Some things to do during the quarantine

You know, not everything in life is about working out. I strongly recommend that everyone maintains their level of fitness, and stays balanced with their nutrition, but life is about enrichment.

With that being said, here are a few free apps I think are worth the time with all this down time:

Babbel is an app that makes learning a language very easy. It doesn’t have all languages, but I’ve been using it to learn Russian, and it’s easy and fun!

Brilliant is another app that allows you to explore anything in math, science, and computer science. Why not!?

Welltory is an app I use for myself every morning, It measures your HRV (heart rate variability). By using your finger over your camera lens , it can measure the variability in between each heart beat, which is a good indicator of how much stress your’e are under. Use this in conjunction with my stress cup worksheet and you will know how o scale your activity, as well as be in tune with your body. Here’s a video to understand more:

Blinkist is an app that breaks down a book into short concise summaries called blinks. In other words, books can be extremely repetitive. This app takes the major components and lessons of a book and creates an effective way to enjoy books, digest the major take aways, and save time!

If you have any questions or comments, drop one below! As a reminder, Online training is available. All you have to do is apply below and I will get back to you!

The Stress Cup : A Free download

I would like to share with you some concepts about Stress. The immune systems strength heavily relies on the amount of stressors your body is dealing with.

To help you learn how to mitigate and scale the stress, I’ve created a worksheet called The Stress Cup.

Print out the below and use it!! After 5-7 days of logging in your stress cup, send it over to me and I’ll gift you a 30 minute video training session with me.

All about your Immune System

Let’s get straight to it, shall we?

What is Inflammation? 

• A bodily response directed by cells in our immune system.

What cells? 

• Dendrites, Macrophages, T-cells, and B-cells

There are two segments within our strong Immune system

1. The Innate Immune System

• The guardians of the castle (Dendrite cells & Macrophages) who protect the door from any bacteria or viruses that look or act suspicious. 

• Guardian Dendrite & Guardian Macrophage destroy invaders and display their heads on the castle wall for the inside army to see - The adaptive immune army

1. The Adaptive Immune System 

• T - cells & B - cells who adapt themselves to any invader mounted on the castle wall by the guardians.

Why do they adapt?

• To be prepared for any future encounter with any of these invaders, so they can can be perfect assassins for it. 

How?

• T & B cells clone themselves and spread within the body, waiting to encounter another invader with their antigen (specific pattern of protein of invaders)

• When fighting, they anti bodies called “cytokines” → These are inflammatory 

Is all Inflammation bad!? No!!

How so? 

• The Immune system generates & controls acute inflammation response needed for the beneficial functions of: Proper wound healing, fighting infections, and exercise recovery.

Difference between Acute & Chronic

• Acute is temporary

• Chronic is a continuous stimulation of the immune system. Constant release of “cytokines” wreak havoc in your castle and health. 

Fun Fact: 

70 - 80% of your immune system lives in our gut!

Oxidative Stress 

What is Oxidative Stress?

• A free radical AKA Reactive oxygen species (ROS). Think of ROS as the drunk guy at a bar for now….

• It is the process of an unpaired electron (Free radical) stealing an electron from a nearby cell membrane in your beautiful body. 

What does this do?

• When a  free radical steals an electron from a nearby molecule, it damages structures like cell membranes even DNA. Tell Kendrick that…

• Long term DNA damage by free radicals can cause mutations leading to cancer.

Where does it come from?

• It comes from many internal and external stressors like: 

• Pollution

• Infection

• Radiation

• Cigarette smoking

• Normal metabolism in our cells

• Processed foods

• Many more

How do I avoid this!?

Well, you can’t avoid it entirely. The goal of all of this is to keep you aware of shit so you can minimize it as much as possible. It’s a yin & yang thing ya know? 

Stay tuned for the next blog post, where I give you a free PDF to learn where your stressors are coming from. From there, we can create interventions to help reduce inflammation & oxidative stress, thus strengthening your immune system.

Gym Equipment For At Home Workouts

Here are a few pieces I’d recommend for an at home workout:

1. Super Bands

For Rows, Presses, Core work, Mobility, loaded squats and or deadlifts

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2. Resistance bands

(Different from above as it has handles, which allows you top do chest press, biceps, triceps, etc…

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3. A pair of dumbbells

I’d say grab a weight that you can press overhead with. If you’re okay with spending a little more, grab an extra set for squats or deadlifts that are heavier.

I personally have Power blocks. You can change the weight from 2.5 lbs up to 50 lbs. However, that is the more expensive option. If you want to go for that, more power to you. If not, these will do!!

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4. Workout Mats

If you have a yoga mat, that will do! If not, you can try grabbing a pack of these. What I like about them is the ability to puzzle them together and take them apart. As I said a yoga mat that is not slippery will do as well.

TO purchase any of the items above, simply clock the image and you will be directed to amazon. Let me note that these brands and items are references. If you feel more comfortable with another brand or an alternative piece of equipment, go for it!

For a free at home workout, click here

If you’d like to experience training with me on an app with monthly workout programs I write myself,

fill out the form below and I’ll get you started!

5 Ways to a Better Bottom

1. Practice the Patterns

Practice the movement patterns on how to properly squat, hinge, push and pull. There are many people who squat and/or bench, but still do not develop the glutes or chest they desire. There are many reasons for this, but one of the main reasons is that people use mechanics that do not allow them to fully engage the muscle groups they originally intended to work out.

Your muscles are all interconnected through a big electrical-circuit system; your nervous system. Put simply, if a light flickers, there is a poor connection somewhere; and it could be anywhere. Well, the same goes for your body. This is what proper mechanics do, they strengthen the signals and currents from the brain to the body. When your body is fully turned-on, you'll have it working a lot more, leading to increased muscle stimulation.

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2. Progressively Load Those Patterns

The better you get at these patterns, the easier they become. To keep your body changing and improving, progressively add external weight to these patterns to get stronger and avoid plateauing. There are many different ways to progress in your exercises. Finding what works for you specifically, is the key.

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3. Eat Like A Grown Adult

As you practice the patterns and progressively load them, your body’s energy will need to increase as well. Everything you do must be in sync with your progression. I know you’re all hard working humans. Your daily activity and thinking require the necessary fuel. Not eating is not an option. Not eating for your correct body type is a big mistake as well. Add that to the body you’ve been pursuing, now add some strength training.. and you require much more fuel! 

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For some more information on nutrition and eating for specific body types, click here.

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4. Sleep Like a Baby

Whether you're a super-parent doing 20 things at once, or climbing the ladder of success, you're key ally, physically and mentally, is sleep. Your brain, nervous system, cells, muscles, organs, and essentially your soul, all need adequate sleep to recover and repair (and that's just from regular daily activity). If you're exercising as well, your muscles are able to recover a whole lot faster, which means increased & quicker growth, better performance and an overall better body. 

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If you'd like to know more, here's a great book to get you started: Sleep Smarter: 21 Essential Strategies to Sleep Your Way to A Better Body, Better Health, and Bigger Success

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5. Get That Outfit You've Been Eyeing

Even if you're not big on fashion, clothing plays an important role in our daily lives (well, at least in most places). For added motivation, buy an outfit or article of clothing that complements the goal you want to reach. Whether it's that dress to show off your booty, a t-shirt to show off your biceps, or a swimsuit for next summer; buy it, feel it - want it. Make that investment and set a timeline. Try it on every week and take a picture to track your progress. Be it a holiday party or special occasion coming up, just make it happen!