Warm-Ups... Mobility & Stretching

Warm-ups are a time to prepare the body for the demands of that day's training session. There isn't one "right" warm-up or stretching routine. Some people think that static stretching (holding a stretch for 15 seconds or longer) is a must, while others believe that it's counterproductive. Some have well thought out movement progressions while others just tighten their belt and go.

No matter what your personal routine looks like, there are 3 key areas that need to be addressed to keep you performing at your best: Ankle mobility, hip mobility, and t-spine mobility. These areas are so important because the health of our knees and low back are largely determined by what the joints above and below them are doing. If you have limited motion in your hips, you will find that either your knees or your low back end up compensating.

In our next post, we'll give you a couple quick exercises that will get your blood pumping and keep those key area moving and grooving in whatever style warm-up you choose.

Nutrition - Avoid Toxins

Another huge rock of nutrition is avoiding toxins. Most people are so focused on adding supplements to their diets to make them healthier, they forget the famous quote: "If you find yourself in a hole, the 1st thing you should do is stop digging". If you have high cholesterol, instead of seeking out medication, first look at what you are putting into your body that might be causing it. Health is determined as much by what don't put in your body as what you do. Here are 3 quick things you can do to make a huge impact on the way you feel & look. Choose 1 option and see if you can do it for the next month.

1. Can the soda pop. This is a silent killer. My brother stopped drinking pop and lost 20lbs! I believe the diet soda is even worse than regular. At least regular pop has real sugar instead of processed chemicals that I can't pronounce.

2. Pass on the bread. Although grains are considered healthy by most people, the bread that we eat has little nutritional value and causes blood sugars to spike which leads to weight gain. Instead of having bread, add more fruit and vegetables to get your carbohydrates.

3. Don't save room for dessert. Dessert is meant to be a once in a while treat, not something you have everyday. Focus on fueling your body with high quality plants, meats, nuts & seeds. And if you need something sweet, there's nothing better than fresh fruit.

Nutrition - Eat Real Food

Another one of our favorite nutrition principles is that when you have the option, eat real food. What do we consider real food? Vegetables, fruits, meats, eggs, nuts & seeds. Basically, anything that has only 1 ingredient. The moment you take a whole food off your plate and replace it with a processed food, the nutritional value of your meal declines. Real food is perfectly packaged with all the nutrients in all the right ratios for optimum health & performance. How you can argue with Mother Nature? I sure wouldn't :)

Nutrition - 80/20

Our training staff has been on a mission to find the truths and principles that underly the most popular nutrition fads out today. After reading books like Thrive, Primal Blueprint, Metabolism Advantage and The China Study, we've come up with a list of guidelines to follow.

My favorite nugget that I've taken out of this is the 80/20 principle. This simply states that we need to eat whole foods 80% of the time and enjoy the 20% of the time when we decide to treat ourselves. Realizing that there is no such thing as having 100% perfect nutrition, we shouldn't make having a treat worse for us by feeling guilty about it. As long as the bulk of your calories come from nutritionaly dense, whole foods, you should enjoy every last bite of your favorite ice cream... as long as it's only 20% of the time :)

Men's Hoops - Summer Lift D

Men's Hoops - Summer Lift C

Men's Hoops - Workout B

Men's Hoops - Summer Lift A