Fitness & Wellness

How To Build Muscle Naturally

How To Build Muscle Naturally

Published by on December 10, 2024 | Leave a response

Some people want to take shortcuts when they build muscle. They choose to use dangerous steroids rather than doing it naturally. Some people choose supplements that don’t always work or are too expensive for the benefits they provide. While increasing the protein in your diet helps, you can do that by modifying your meals. Instead of focusing on chemicals and commercial drinks, you’ll benefit the most from exercising and eating healthy. Timing food can be beneficial. The type of food you choose is vital to muscle growth.

Muscle building starts in the kitchen.

What type of diet should you eat? Start by cutting out food you should exclude. Cut out highly processed meat, food with added sugar, baked goods made with highly processed flour, and fried food. Include whole foods like vegetables, fruit, whole grains, and high-quality protein. An adequate amount of protein is necessary to provide the building blocks for muscle. Healthy fat transports and metabolizes vitamins A, D, K, and E. Those vitamins help to maintain adequate testosterone levels. Testosterone is required to build muscle mass.

Your body needs all types of exercise, especially strength training.

If you want to build muscles, lift something heavy and use the correct form. Don’t be tempted to lift as much as possible and push yourself initially. Wait until you perfect your form. Correctly doing each movement makes the difference between progress and injury. Only do intense strength-building exercises for each muscle group two to three times a week. When you work out, you create micro-tears in the muscle. The magic occurs during recovery, where the tears heal. The scar tissue makes the muscles stronger, and it makes them grow. Rest the muscles for 48 to 72 hours between sessions, or it delays or diminishes recovery. The muscles may even atrophy.

Maximize your workout by using the best workout.

Personal trainers know the types of exercise that get the best results. They are compound strength training exercises that work several muscles, tendons, and joints at once. Full-body exercises also maximize the benefits you get in the time you spend. Using kettlebells can provide a full body workout, plus it provides balance, flexibility, and endurance training. If you’re trying to burn fat, turn your strength training workout into a HIIT—high intensity interval training—workout.

  • Maximize your workout by eating a pre-workout snack. It should contain protein and carbs. It improves your performance and improves recovery. Finish your workout with a post-workout snack that boosts recovery.
  • Stay hydrated. Drink 17 to 20 ounces of water two to three hours before exercising. A half-hour before you start, drink another glass of water. Keep water with you and sip on it throughout your session.
  • If you need to lose weight, don’t restrict your calories too much. Either reduce them by approximately 500 a day or eat the calories necessary to maintain the weight of your final goal.
  • Always be consistent. Schedule your workout at the same time each day and treat it as you would any important appointment. Create a goal and a plan of action. Always track your progress. Winners keep score.

For more information, contact us today at Team Worx Fitness

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Building A Fitness Community

Building A Fitness Community

Published by on November 25, 2024 | Leave a response

Getting fit should be part of everyone’s lifestyle, regardless of age. It helps kids get off to a healthy start, promising athletes become stars, adults stay fit, and seniors remain independent. Staying fit is harder when you do it alone. Finding others to support you and whom you support makes it easier. Having a fitness community helps ensure success. There’s always someone ready to lift you when your spirits are down or help you through a complicated workout.

Find people with shared goals.

You don’t have to have the same fitness level as the people in your community. You only need the common denominator of fitness to achieve your goal. Whether you choose friends and family near you or someone at a distance or online, it’s all about their support. Some people join running clubs. Others sign up for team sports. Each of those requires a specific level of fitness. How do you get started? You start by preparing your body. If you’re doing any sport, you must condition your body. Group chat with team members to start a workout program.

Make it easier on yourself by using an existing group.

At Team WorX, there’s a community waiting for you to join. Our group training is the perfect place to get that extra push and encouragement to continue. The excitement and dedication of the group is contagious. The structured classes help safely guide you toward your goal. When you have the power of a positive group mindset, anything is possible. You’ll feel like you can push through the difficult times to achieve your personal greatness.

A group holds you accountable.

If you’re working out alone, it’s easy to pull back and take it easy. It’s easy to give up when the going gets tough. Working out with a community of like-minded people is different. You are on your best behavior. The camaraderie makes the tough part easier. You’re more apt to push through to success. The community helps you hold yourself accountable and motivates you to succeed.

  • Even if you’re working out at different fitness levels, everyone has felt the struggle of sticking with a program, making it through one more set, or keeping all your meals healthy. You’re never alone in your struggles.
  • Finding a community that can include your whole family makes getting fit and keeping fit part of your family time. We offer KidsWorX, traditional training, SeniorWorX, and WorX for athletes in training.
  • It only takes two people to start a fitness community. If they’re dedicated to progress, little by little, it will grow. It’s all about focusing on goals and believing in yourself.
  • Building a fitness community includes giving back to the community that supports you. At Team WorX, we help fundraise, help at community events, and help local athletic teams.

For more information, contact us today at Team Worx Fitness

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Save Money By Eating Healthy

Save Money By Eating Healthy

Published by on November 10, 2024 | Leave a response

If your grocery budget isn’t going as far as it used to and you think eating healthy is too expensive, like many other people in Alexandria, VA, the cost of food, whether junk or nutritious, has risen. You don’t have to trade your health for affordable prices. You can save money while creating meals packed with nutrient-dense food. It’s all about choosing food wisely and planning.

Start by planning meals for the week.

Meal planning can keep you on the road to good health, weight loss, and affordable prices. You plan a week’s meals one day, shop for the food another, and cook all the food for the week on your day off work. Make sure you plan for snacks, too. Use the food in several ways. If you made baked chicken for one meal, use the chicken to make a chicken salad or casserole for another. The bones and other leftover meat can be part of a soup. Chop vegetables for side dishes and snacks. Use the leftovers for soups on the last day. Nothing goes to waste. Pack it in individual servings for the week’s meals.

Have a meatless Monday.

You don’t have to stick with one day of meatless meals. You can do several meatless days. Make burritos, Buddha bowls, and black bean soup from leftovers. Multi-vegetable soup from leftovers is another nutritious option. Squash lasagna is another option. You can use frozen spinach to save money and time. Create combinations like red beans and rice to get complete proteins.

Create your menus using this formula.

Protein can be the most expensive part of a meal if you want animal protein. Chicken, ground beef, organ meats, cheese, and eggs are the cheapest. Add in several vegetables. They don’t have to be fresh. Frozen vegetables are often fresher. They’re picked at peak ripeness and frozen. Fresh vegetables and fruit are picked early and spend time during shipping and on the shelf. Canned vegetables will save money but may have additives. Read the label. If they’re high in sodium, rinse them thoroughly before using. The final step is filling starch or carbs like rice, potatoes, or beans.

  • If you buy fresh vegetables, go to the local farmer’s market and use in-season veggies and fruit to save money. You can save even more by planning your meals around local grocery sales.
  • Cut the calories in your pasta and add extra nutrients using a spiralizer or spaghetti squash. Instead of store-bought sauce that contains sugar, use seasoned canned tomatoes and boil it down. Favorites are often chili-ready and Italian-spiced.
  • Stick with water instead of soft drinks. Buy in bulk, especially rice and beans. Double recipes and freeze meals ahead. Eat before you shop for groceries and use coupons when possible.
  • Save money by doing some work yourself. Instead of grated cheese, buy block cheese and grate it when needed. It lasts longer, is healthier, and costs less. If you buy discounted fresh vegetables, prepare them for freezing immediately or use them that night or the next.

For more information, contact us today at Team Worx Fitness

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Reasons Why You Should Get Outside Everyday

Reasons Why You Should Get Outside Everyday

Published by on October 25, 2024 | Leave a response

If you aren’t taking fall walking tours in Alexandria, VA, you’re missing out on a spectacular view. Getting outside and walking is good for your mental and physical health. You’ll see the beautiful colors of the black tupelo, sweet gum, and silver maple throughout the city and in parks like Ft. Howard, Jones Point, and Monticello. You can stroll through nature’s wonderland or bike on the many beautiful trails in Alexandria parks. You’ll come back more relaxed and revived from the experience.

Getting outside helps improve your sleep.

Just as solar outdoor lights need sunshine to recharge, our eyes need enough light to reset the circadian rhythm and improve the sleep cycle. If you get early morning light, you’ll sleep sounder at night and fall asleep quicker. The cells in your eyes help set your internal clock. It’s one reason older people tend to have problems sleeping. Their eyes don’t absorb light as well as they did in their youth.

Don’t forget the immunity boost sunshine offers.

Your body uses sunlight to produce vitamin D. Getting out for 20 minutes daily can help improve vitamin D stores. Your body has an improved immune defense when you have adequate vitamin D. It also may help you lose weight. Studies show a correlation between vitamin D deficiencies and obesity. Scientists aren’t sure if a lack of vitamin D causes weight gain or if excess weight causes vitamin D deficiencies. Some scientists believe sun exposure also may energize the T-cells in the body. T-cells improve immunity. Being in areas with plants exposes you to phytoncides given off by plants that aid your immune functioning.

Get outside and walk, run, or ride a bike to aid in weight loss.

The activity will burn extra calories and keep you healthier. It aids in weight loss even more. It boosts vitamin D. Two other factors are improved sleep and the link between obesity and vitamin D deficiency. Getting sun and outside activity helps you sleep better. Lack of sleep can cause an imbalance in your hunger/satiety hormones. Your body produces more hunger hormones when you lack sleep and fewer hormones that make you feel full.

  • You may experience less respiratory distress and breathe better when you get outside. Indoor air pollution and allergens are two to five times higher than outdoors.
  • Getting out in the sun can lift your spirits and fight depression. If you’re doing mild exercise like walking or biking, the increased exercise helps so much that mental health specialists use it as an adjunct therapy.
  • A 2020 study found that children who spent more time outside had less chance of developing myopia. It might be due to a greater variety of colors, a more varied distance between objects, or the dopamine production from light stimulation. It only helps during youth.
  • Getting outside and being near other people can expand your social life. Smiling, nodding, or talking to others walking past you are examples. Walking or biking with others is another.

For more information, contact us today at Team Worx Fitness

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Does Fasting Accelerate Weight Loss?

Does Fasting Accelerate Weight Loss?

Published by on October 10, 2024 | Leave a response

Everyone is different. You may find the perfect exercise routine to help you get fitter, while it does little good for a friend or is too difficult. The same is true for weight loss. For some people, fasting can accelerate weight loss. For others, there’s only a temporary weight loss or even a weight gain when the fast ends. The type of fasting you do makes a difference, too.

Intermittent fasting is one type of fasting.

You can do a juice fast that lasts several days or a water fast where you only drink black coffee, tea, or water for a day. Many of the fad fasts you read about online are unhealthy to do for more than a few days. One that is healthy and works is the intermittent fast. There are several ways to do this fast, but the most popular is to limit your food intake to eight to ten hours daily. You might start eating at 10:00 a.m. and quit eating at 6:00 p.m. for an eight-hour intermittent fast. You eat normally, except the window of time is shorter. Studies show that people who ate in an eight-hour window and fasted the other sixteen hours ate 20% fewer calories without even dieting.

Long-term fasting triggers a few issues.

You may lose weight when you do a traditional fast that limits your calories to extremely low levels, but you also may sabotage any future weight loss or regain the weight you lost. Using a long-term extreme low-calorie fast sends your body into starvation mode. It slows your metabolism to ensure you have adequate calories for vital functions. You’ll burn fewer calories 24/7. That makes it easier to regain weight and more difficult to lose it.

Fasts can help jump-start your weight loss program.

Some people alternate their weight loss program between fasting and eating regular meals. Starting your efforts at weight loss with a fast may also help you stick with a program. The quicker weight loss provides motivation. Intermittent fasting is easier for some people and also improves success. In most cases, people don’t diet. They eat healthily and limit the hours they can eat. It reduces hunger pangs and the feeling of deprivation..

  • Intermittent fasting improves insulin sensitivity and increases human growth hormone. It improves your metabolic rate and reduces inflammation. Animal studies show intermittent fasting slowed aging and boosted weight loss.
  • If you fast for 24 hours, it can aid cell repair and improve waste removal. The process is called autophagy. The body removes damaged cells and creates new ones. It takes 24 hours to do. It lowers the risk of cancer and improves brain health.
  • If you have diabetes, hypoglycemia, digestive issues, or insomnia, fasting isn’t the best way to lose weight. It can compromise the immune system. Pregnant or lactating women should never fast.
  • Always check with your healthcare professional before starting a fast or any diet or exercise program. Even if you use a form of fasting, when you eat, it should be healthy food.

For more information, contact us today at Team Worx Fitness

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Reasons To Try A Spin Class

Reasons To Try A Spin Class

Published by on September 25, 2024 | Leave a response

If you want to add more variety to your workout, consider doing other options, like yoga, dance or spin class, or swimming. These options are low-impact. Some forms of dancing may be exceptions. Spin class, in particular, is a good cardio workout that improves circulation. It can benefit people with low mobility and joint issues, like seniors. It can help increase the synovial fluids in the joints that keep your joints lubricated. It’s excellent cardio, but you still need a whole-body workout that provides exercises for strength, flexibility, and balance. It’s a great supplement to any exercise program.

Spinning builds strength, especially around the joints.

You’ll build joint strength by building the ligaments, muscles, and bones of the joints. That can help you with activities of daily living that keep you independent and functioning properly. You use your entire body when you’re spinning. It’s not as effective as traditional strength training, but it does help more than just the quads. You need to use the proper form to maximize the effect.

You’ll reduce stress. ‘

Between gym sessions, people often focus on recovery exercises, such as walking and yoga, but spin classes can also fit that category. It burns off stress hormones and increases endorphins and happy hormones. When you focus intently on spinning, it frees your mind and helps you be in the moment so you break the chain of negative thoughts that plagued you throughout the day. It can even be more fun if you go with friends.

It adds extra ammunition to your fight against fat.

You’ll lose more weight when you spin on your days away from the gym. It’s fun and challenging, so you aren’t focused strictly on how hard you’re working. You can adjust your resistance to match your fitness level. If you’re using it as a recovery exercise, reduce the resistance to the minimum and go for the movement.

  • Spin sessions allow you to modify your workout and turn it into a HIIT—high intensity interval training—session. It’s where you alternate between maximum intensity and a recovery pace. It burns more calories than other workouts and gets you fit faster.
  • You can choose challenging spin classes or ones that are more relaxing. If you need a mental boost, pick a more challenging one to build mental strength. Push yourself to increase resistance to the maximum.
  • Like all types of fitness, spinning can improve cognitive functioning, increase telomere length, boost the creation of new neural pathways, and slow mental decline.
  • You’ll build core strength with spinning. Core strength can help reduce back aches and improve your posture. It burns belly fat, improves digestion, and flattens your stomach.

For more information, contact us today at Team Worx Fitness

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Exercises To Help Relieve Back Pain

Exercises To Help Relieve Back Pain

Published by on September 10, 2024 | Leave a response

Back pain affects people of all genders, ages, or occupations in Alexandria, VA. It can be chronic or acute, but always uncomfortable enough to interrupt your sleep or busy day. Common causes include muscle strain, arthritis, ruptured discs, cancer, stress, and digestive or other internal health issues. You can relieve back pain and even prevent it with the right exercises. Before you start, always check with your healthcare professional to identify the cause.

Constant computer and poor posture work can cause upper back pain.

Upper back and neck pain require different exercises than lower back pain does. Neck and shoulder rolls help with this type of pain. So does periodically taking a break and stretching. Roll your head to one side, then to the back, to the other side, and then down. Do it slowly. You’ll feel the tension start to melt. Rolling your shoulders in a circle, first up, then back, down, forward, and back to neutral position, also helps.

The cat-cow yoga poses help the entire back.

This simple exercise relieves all back pain and helps prevent it from returning. Start on your hands and knees with your neck in a neutral position, hands directly under the shoulders, and knees under the hips. Inhale while you round your back and lower your head. Pull your stomach tightly. You’ll look like a Halloween cat arching its back. Hold a few seconds, then exhale as you return to the neutral position. Move into the cow position. Raise your head and drop your stomach, causing your back to dip in the middle. Hold that position for a few seconds and return to the neutral pose.

Grab a towel for a stretch that relieves lower back pain.

One of the best stretches that can bring quick relief from back pain requires a towel. Lay on your back, knees bent, and feet flat on the floor. Loop a towel, holding one end in each hand. Put one foot in the loop and straighten that leg as much as possible, lifting it as you do. Hold it. Lower the leg back to the starting position and loop the other leg. Do this several times and feel the lower back pain melt.

  • Do a bridge exercise. A bridge exercise builds abdominal strength and helps back pain. Lay on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Lift your midsection until it forms a straight line from your knees to the top of your head. Hold and lower.
  • Reverse the bridge. Instead of laying on your back, lay on your stomach with the weight of your upper body on your elbows and forearm. Keep your lower body flat as you lift your upper body by straightening your elbows. Hold for a few seconds.
  • Twist your upper body for upper and midback relief. Stand with arms extended and feet slightly apart and twist your upper body first to one side and then to the other.
  • The simple act of walking can help relax muscles and increase circulation. Stretch your muscles before you walk. Focus on posture as you walk.

For more information, contact us today at Team Worx Fitness

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Hectic Can Still Be Healthy?

Hectic Can Still Be Healthy?

Published by on August 25, 2024 | Leave a response

If your day keeps you running at top speed and your day is hectic, it doesn’t mean you can’t be healthy. Living healthier doesn’t have to take a lot of extra time. There are even things you can do to make your life a little easier. It does mean making some changes to develop routines that create healthier habits. Each person is different and so are the lifestyle changes for a healthier life. You might need to improve your diet, exercise more, or get more sleep. Here are easy-to-adopt ideas to help you.

Find ways to increase your activity.

Maybe you don’t have a half hour or hour to devote to regular exercise, but you do have several ten-minute windows throughout the day. Take advantage of those times. There are short exercise routines you can do anywhere. You can do squats beside your desk, get off the bus before your stop and walk the rest of the way, or do leg lifts or bicycles at your desk. Get up early and do five minutes of stretching with a few calisthenics. Walk for ten minutes at lunch and do ten minutes of exercise or play with the kids for ten minutes when you get home.

Eat healthier as you save time and money.

If you’ve never tried meal planning, you should. You plan meals one day, shop on another, and on the third, cook everything for the week. You use many ingredients in several meals, such as chicken breasts one night, chicken salad on another, and chicken casserole on the third. Prep all fresh fruit and vegetables when you get home from the grocery. You can use them in cooking and have some left for snacks. When it’s mealtime, take the food out of the freezer or refrigerator to heat and eat. It’s faster than waiting in the drive-through line, healthier, and cheaper.

Have a sleep schedule and stick with it.

Adequate sleep is necessary for a healthy body. When you sleep, your body heals, and your brain does housekeeping and repair. People who lack sleep are prone to heart disease, obesity, and diabetes. Create a sleep schedule and stick with it on the weekend. Most people require between 7 and 9 hours, so see what works best for you. Turn off all electronics and sleep in a dark, cool room for the deepest sleep.

  • Have healthy snacks you can carry with you. Something as simple as an apple or banana can boost your energy. A handful of nuts or homemade trail mix are other options.
  • Learn relaxation techniques and take a minute or two during the day to practice them. Once you conquer meditation or relaxation, you’ll quickly calm your mind and body. The calmer your mind, the more you can accomplish.
  • Switch from soft drinks to water, green tea, or black coffee. Soft drinks drive up blood sugar, increasing your energy rapidly. It drops just as quickly. Studies show people who drink green tea live longer.
  • Get up and move about every 50 minutes if your job is at a desk. Studies show sitting for long periods eliminates many of the health benefits of your exercise program.

For more information, contact us today at Team Worx Fitness

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Does Getting Up Earlier Make You Healthier?

Does Getting Up Earlier Make You Healthier?

Published by on August 10, 2024 | Leave a response

People in Alexandria, VA, who focus on becoming healthier are getting up earlier. Does it make a difference, or is that just a myth? The Franklin phrase on the health benefits of early rising includes going to bed early. If you do both, then it’s beneficial. You keep a sleep schedule that maintains your circadian rhythm, your body’s internal clock. Studies show that getting at least 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night using a consistent schedule improves sleep quality and health.

Your circadian rhythm regulates your hormones.

Controlling your internal clock also regulates the body’s hormones. These hormones trigger responses in the body that affect your appetite, digestion, body temperature, and other functions. If you don’t get adequate sleep, it can trigger the release of excess ghrelin, the hunger hormone, and diminish the release of leptin, the satiety hormone. Leptin also controls insulin and blood sugar levels. It helps regulate weight.

Getting up early also provides benefits.

The early morning hours are usually quiet. The craziness and hustle of the day haven’t started. It’s an excellent time to relax and plan for the day’s activities. Some people meditate during the early hours, while others exercise to ensure they fit it into their day. An early riser has time to eat a healthy breakfast that is more than just a donut and coffee. There are few distractions, so it’s a mellow way to start the day without the rush.

Getting up earlier is only beneficial if you go to bed early, too.

If you go to bed late and get up early, only getting a few hours of sleep, it’s counterproductive. You need both parts: early to bed and early to rise. Not everyone has the luxury of going to bed early. Night shift workers don’t. Studies show that even when night shift workers get adequate sleep, they still may have problems. Going to bed late and sleeping late disrupts the body’s internal clock and interferes with natural sleep rhythms that allow the body to eliminate toxins and repair itself. It can increase the risk of breast cancer, heart attack, and depression. Shift workers have a higher risk of diabetes and gastrointestinal problems.

  • Getting up early in the morning also helps maintain melatonin regulation. Melatonin controls sleep/wake cycles. Even if you sleep during the day, the reduced melatonin won’t allow you to sleep deeply enough to let the brain and body repair.
  • Studies show early risers are usually more productive than those who sleep later. It may be due to lower stress levels or having more planning time.
  • No two people are alike. Neither are their sleep schedules. Most people require 7 to 9 hours of sleep, but not everyone. Some people function their best with little sleep, while others need more.
  • If you exercise early in the morning, it may improve your workout. Studies show early morning exercise tends to burn more fat than in the afternoon or evening.

For more information, contact us today at Team Worx Fitness

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