How many of you loved exploring as kids? I did!

I grew up under the big, open skies of Texas. We had miles and miles of open land behind our house just waiting to be explored. And my brother and I spent hours doing just that.
​
​If we were lucky, we’d find arrowheads.

One time we found an old gas station out in the middle of nowhere. We brought home rusty cans of oil that I spilled all over my mom’s outdoor table (whoops!).

Another time, we got lost in a snowstorm. We had to shelter in an overturned silo (till we figured out we were in a neighbor’s junk yard).

And at night, sometimes we’d catch fireflies. Did you ever try to catch them? We’d get as many as we could in a mason jar – our own little lanterns.

So, what do exploring and fireflies have to do with happiness?

I want to tread carefully here, because “happiness” is such a broad concept. It has many different meanings to many different people. And I think it’s easy to take an approach to happiness that leaves us feeling empty, unfulfilled. We may feel like there’s something wrong with us, if we're not "happy".

And one of the mistakes I think we make is that we see happiness as something we can catch and keep. Just like the fireflies in the jar.

And then we’ll have our own personal ‘happiness lantern’ that we can carry around with us. It’ll light up each day and make the negative emotions scatter.

 But happiness doesn’t really work like that. It's not somewhere we arrive.

 I think it looks a lot more like exploring.

When my brother and I were exploring, we weren’t thinking about being happy. We weren’t trying to capture happiness. We were just adventurers, eager to see what was out there.

We were engaged in discovering new treasures. We loved spending time together.

Sometimes it was exciting, like the times we found arrowheads. Sometimes it was scary, like when we got lost. Sometimes it was painful, like when my brother got bucked off a donkey.

Yet our exploration, in all its colors, was, I believe, an expression of happiness. Or maybe “happiness in action”. I believe happiness grows out of engaging in life with the ones we love.

And that it’s so much more expansive than “feeling good.”

Happiness has been hijacked.
 
It’s become a caricature of its true self. The fairy tale ending – “happily ever after.” Where nothing ever goes wrong. Where life is perpetual sunshine and rainbows. Where all the negative emotions are cleared away. Where the monotony of daily life – chores, being stuck in traffic, email – somehow disappears, replaced by a life of ease.

If that’s our definition, then we may begin to feel cheated. I’ve long loved this quotation from columnist Jenkin Lloyd Jones:

​Plant Proteins (1,2,3) 

Plant proteins can work just as well as animal proteins for getting enough daily protein in a diet. There are a few main limitations, but these can be largely overcome as detailed below:

​You’re crushing it in a race or a long run, and then all of a sudden  - BAM - you hit a wall. Your legs feel heavy, you’re all out of kick, your will to go on seems weak; even your brain feels foggy...you’ve bonked!
 
This is one issue almost every runner comes up against at some point - the dreaded BONK! It can happen during a race or even bring your entire training to a halt. 
 
Whether we’re talking about a bonk in a single run, or the complete meltdown of your training effort, most runners will face a point at which they’re not sure they can continue. Either scenario can be very distressing to someone who is putting all the time and effort into training and all of a sudden seeing their hard work seemingly wasted.

​Before you get too frustrated and throw in the towel, let’s talk about what you can do to battle the bonk. There is hope! 
 
Bonking is often a result of not managing the calorie balance of performance adequately. Making sure that you have a clear plan for both your training and for race day is critical!
 
Above all else, the number one thing a runner should think about the most is running (Just enjoy it!). Number two? Fueling that running.

Running takes a fair amount of calories for both training and recovery. Making sure that you're dialing in the calories for your training at each phase of the game is vital to staying healthy and on the road. Knowing how much to eat to keep your energy balance up for both running and rebuilding can be difficult. Good news is, there is a solution.
 
At Body Smart we recommend having both a Resting and an Exercise Metabolic Test. These two measures of your health are used to get exact figures of how your body burns calories so you can get precision information to fuel your body well.

With the resting metabolic rate (RMR) test you'll see how many calories your body needs to sustain baseline body functions. Essentially, you find out how many calories you burn if you were to just sit and rest all day – what you need to stay alive. Knowing this empowers you to have a basement level of calories you should never eat less than...even if you’re trying to lose weight.
 
Eating fewer calories than your RMR simply leads to poor outcomes: fatigue, diminished performance, slower metabolism, increased risk of injury, hard plateaus during weight loss and eventual re-gain with interest, And to top it off, you become HANGRY so no-one likes you!
 
Once you're empowered with the right information, you can build a foundation to fuel your body adequately. Getting the right baseline data lets you take the information from the exercise test and build a nutrition plan for your body and your training that will help you stay healthy and have the energy you need for both performance and recovery.

Well, to build endurance best, you have to tell your body you want to build endurance. How do we do that? We run and then we keep running. The problem is, where most of us like to run is at a pace that doesn’t build endurance.  We run at a pace that simply burns calories, but predominantly the wrong type. 
 
See, most of us think, “If I’m going to run for 45 minutes, I should run at a comfortably uncomfortable pace for 45 minutes.”  I call this pace or this zone the ‘no improvement’ zone! Unfortunately, for nearly all runners, at this pace you tend to burn almost all carbohydrates.

Nothing, except you have a really small reserve of them that runs out relatively quickly. Also, your body needs carbs for recovery, repair, maintaining blood sugar, keeping the brain functioning, and key survival systems like fight or flight. By burning them off we’re depleting our resources and limiting our ability to recover.
 
The average runner has between 1600-2000 calories of carbs stored on their body distributed through their liver and all of their muscles. This means you may have only a few hundred in your quads, calf muscles, hamstrings, glutes and other running muscles.  Because of that, you can run out within just a few hours of running on race day, or become severely depleted on a normal training run.

What’s our body’s response? Well, it becomes a little bit better at managing carbs up to a point, but it struggles to keep up and we get really hungry most of the time, feel tired a lot, and tend to get injured more. This is what leads to a total training bonk!
 
The worst part is working so hard, but staying in the ‘no improvement’ zone and PLATEAUing in our training. We are simply running at a pace that we can already run at, so we’re not pushing the top end of our speed to get faster; we’re also running too fast to keep up with the recovery needed to go at that pace for our current conditioning.
 
If that sounds familiar...keep reading!

Now, let’s talk about how to build endurance. Just like the average runner has a reserve of carbs (albeit small), we also have a reserve of fat stored on our body. The difference is, the fat supply is HUGE! A healthy person of about 150 lbs and 20% body fat has around 105,000 calories of fat stored on their body. Now that is an energy reserve!! 
 
Training your body to tap into the relatively unending reserve of fat calories is the key to building endurance and avoiding the bonk! We do this by training slowly!

,​I know that slow sounds boring, but hold on a minute. Your slow is relative and doesn’t have to stay slow forever. What’s slow for an elite runner may be your fast, but they EARNED that through years and miles of relative slow training. The key is you have to put in the investment first, and then eventually your slow gets faster and faster. 
 
With slow running we tend to burn more fat. By training your body to burn fat, you improve your endurance. The more you build your endurance, the more you’re able to run longer distances and the more your body responds to making adaptations, making running easier. Over time, and with the right amount of high-intensity training (which pushes the mechanics of improving your speed), you get faster. 

Becoming a Body Smart athlete involves taking time to learn and adapt these zones into your training. After a metabolic test you're empowered with the right information, but you still have to DO IT.

It can be hard to slow down and stay consistent, but the process pays huge dividends. By following a balance of 80% Zone 2 and 20% zones 4 and 5, you'll be doing the most to build both speed and endurance.
 
It'll take some getting used to, but you’ll find you feel better on a day-to-day basis. You’ll also have a lot more in reserve to run faster on those speed workouts and on race day because you aren’t playing catch-up on the carbs so much.

Now, back to avoiding the bonk. No runner burns pure fat the whole time, even in Zone 2. There is always some depletion of carbohydrate reserves with any training or racing. So, we still have to account for the carb calories we’ve burned and make sure we’re aware and replacing them before they get too low. With a metabolic test you’ll know exactly how many carb calories you burn and how many to replace.
 
When our body senses carb calories are getting low, the brain starts to pump the brakes and slow us down. We start noticing our legs feeling heavy and our will to go on fades. This is the race day bonk!
 
What do we need to combat this? Carbs. Simply timing when you get those carbs can make a huge difference in your performance. Making sure you take the carbohydrate well before you start to bonk allows your brain to get the message that more carbs are on the way and it can release the stored carbs in your liver so your brain and muscles have the fuel to keep on going to the finish line!

​Let’s summarize the key steps to avoiding the bonk. 

Start off with making sure your nutrition is dialed in - in training, pre-race and on race day! Get metabolic testing to get your custom information. If you feel you need a more detailed custom nutrition plan, we recommend taking your testing results to a sports dietician. (It’s important to remember that a dietitian and nutritionist may be very different in their qualifications. We recommend an RDN to stay on the safe side of knowing they’re qualified.)

​Next, utilize your testing results to optimize your training. As long as you’re putting in the hard work, you might as well be getting the most ‘bang for your buck’ out of every run. If you’re looking to improve and avoid injury, stop wasting time in the ‘no improvement’ zone. Swallow your pride for about 6 weeks and slow down on the slow runs. Enjoy feeling less beat up having more energy in your day. Then, speed up to the max on your fast runs. Really go for it!

​Once you’re ready for race day by training in a way that maximizes your metabolism, make sure your pre-race prep is on point. 
 
Start off with a breakfast that you know sits well with you, hydrate well, and try to include both quick and longer-lasting sources of energy - one of our favorites is whole wheat toast with bananas and peanut butter or avocado toast. Both are delicious! 
 
Once you’re in race, utilize nutrition well before you start getting symptoms of “the bonk”. Once you know how many calories of carbohydrate you’re burning per hour from your metabolic test, you’ll know exactly how much to onboard throughout a race. 

​One of my favorite things is to have runners report back after their first race (where they’ve actually been training according to their metabolism). It’s fun to hear them tell us about how good they felt, how easy their recovery was afterward, and most importantly, how they hit a new PR after years of plateau, injury, and frustration.
 
One of our amazing athletes, Josh, said training this way, “...has helped me understand how I can train by heart rate (VO2 testing). Following my Body Smart training plan, I was able to achieve my goal of running a marathon in under 3 hours. I felt good throughout training, during the race and after the race.” 
 
That’s the kind of response we love to hear back from our athletes and the results every runner wants to achieve. It’s what we try to help every runner at Body Smart accomplish. We love helping keep you healthy and on the road!

Bones are like a perpetual construction site – there's always remodeling going on. Old or damaged bone gets cleared out and new bone gets laid down.

Problems arise when bones don’t have enough time or energy to recover and adapt.

When this happens, the scale shifts towards breakdown, and bones begin to get weaker.

If this process continues, you’ll get a stress reaction in the bone. Swelling occurs in and around the injured bone, and the bone gets more sensitive to stress.

If nothing changes, the stress reaction will progress to a stress fracture.

Stress fractures need especially tender care and specific changes to the training regime. Activity and training must be done without pain.

You may need to replace your regular runs with things like cycling or swimming. These take some of the load off bone, giving it time to recover.

Switching out runs for lower impact activities allows you to keep up your fitness as you recover.

If you ignore the stress fracture and keep training, you might get a full fracture of the bone. This means more time off of training and a longer recovery period.

The biggest risks come from poor nutrition and a training load that’s too high. Another thing that often gets overlooked is early sports specialization.

While this can be a problem for anyone, it tends to affect female athletes the most.

A combination of eating too little and burning too much means they don't get enough calories. And, as many have very low body fat, they don’t have much of a calorie reserve to buffer them.

Without enough calories, the body doesn’t have the building blocks it needs to remodel and repair. And it's worse if they're also not getting enough bone-building vitamins and minerals (like Vitamin D and calcium).

If the body doesn't get enough energy, it goes into starvation mode. It can shut down function in certain systems. This is why one of the hallmarks of low energy in women is lack of a period. Reproduction isn't as important as other more vital systems.

Female runners are, in fact, among the highest of those at risk for bone stress injury (BSI).

Thus, it’s crucial to focus on getting enough calories and nutrients to keep bones healthy. Coaches, families, and individuals need to be aware of this issue. Eating enough to fuel training is crucial.

Training load combines intensity - how hard your workouts are - and duration - how often/how long you work out.

If you add training load too fast, you’ll find yourself getting injured more often.

So many different things - like genetics, diet and nutrition, age, etc. - affect how you recover and progress.

Thus, what works for one doesn’t work for all. If you try to match training load to those around you, then it might be too much or too little for your specific needs.

Anyone in team sports, particularly track and field, needs to be aware of this.

​And they may have to advocate for themselves. Sometimes the whole team does goes through the same exact workouts. This means that for some, the workouts will be great, and for others, they’ll lead to injury.

One of the best ways to manage this issue is by reducing the intensity in your training plan. For aerobic exercise, an 80/20 split of high-intensity to low-intensity is ideal.

This means most of your aerobic workouts should be low intensity. Even when adding more high intensity - like in peak training - the split should still favor low intensity.

This helps you build endurance and recover better. Yet you also keep the benefits of high intensity, like greater speed and longer time till fatigue.

If you don’t know your zones, it’s a great time to get metabolic testing. Learn more here. 

If you decide to add more intensity to your training, back off on how often/how long you train. This will allow your body to recover from the added stress. As you make progress, then you can add the time you're training back in.

To make recovery even better, pay attention to things like sleep and nutrition. These are crucial for good recovery.

Also pay attention to how you feel in the 24 hours after your workout. Do you feel a lot more tired and fatigued than usual? Are you having more pain than you usually experience? Do you feel like it’s taking you longer to recovery? Are you rapidly dropping body weight?

These can all be signs of adding training load too fast. And they may be indicators to back off and progress at a slower rate.

Bone building potential is at its highest in early years. So this is the best time to have kids be active in a variety of sports and activities.

Different movements, speeds, impacts, and intensities help athletes become stronger and more resilient.

In contrast, specializing too early can lead to burnout and injury. And for sports like running, cycling, or swimming it can be mean poorer long-term bone health.

The most positive adaptations in bone involve high impact over short periods of time.

Sports like cycling and swimming don’t provide high impact. And sports like running provide impact but do so over longer periods of time. This means neither are great for stimulating bone to adapt.

And runners have it even worse – they have among the highest rate of bone stress injury (BSI) among athletes.

As a rule, runners should include a rest day at least once a week and take 1 week off every 3 or so months.

Managing diet and training load go a long way toward helping you avoid injury.

It's also important to add in plyometrics, strength training, and cross training. These will help further bulletproof you against injury.

Plyometrics can be a great addition to trigger improvements in bone strength. They involve the high impact, low frequency that provides an ideal stimulus to bone.

It doesn't take long for bone to get bored. So repetitive, high rep loading (like that seen in running) isn’t great for improving bone health.

Doing a variety of plyometric exercises adds a further benefit. It loads different areas of the bone with each exercise. This leads to the bone, as a whole, becoming more resilient.

Incorporating plyometrics as part of your regular routine also benefits your tendons. It improves their ability to store and release energy, which means less load on your bones.

Be sure to include strength training as a regular part of your fitness regime.

Training should use moderate to heavy loads. These are ideal for building muscle size and strength. This makes muscles better at absorbing shock and distributing forces across the bone.

Heavy loads also make tendons stronger, so they're better at storing and releasing energy. This takes stress off the bone and makes the activities you do less fatiguing.

Thus, people who strength train on a regular basis tend to have fewer BSIs.

Muscle strength is also important for long-term health. Stronger people tend to live longer.

Cross training is important because it can both strengthen bone and help it recover.

Activities like volleyball or basketball have high impact over short periods of time. Thus, like plyometrics, they provide a strong signal for bones to adapt.

Other activities, like cycling or swimming, help you stay conditioned. They work your heart and lungs while giving your bones a chance to rest and recover.

Cross training works your body in a variety of ways, so muscles, tendons, and bones get stronger.

While there’s always a ton of different reasons for bone stress injury, there’s a lot you can do to avoid it.

Pay attention to your nutrition and training load – it’s crucial for staying healthy.

Take part in a variety of sports, especially in younger years – this is an ideal time for building bone.

And make sure you're doing plyometrics, strength training, and cross training.

​There are actually 2 common types of “shin splints” and it’s important to differentiate between the two.

​Slowly cycle your old shoes out and the new shoes in (and train in a variety of different shoes). If you’re getting pain in your Achilles, slow down the transition even more, and make sure you’re doing regular strength training.
 
Strength training is one of the best ways to improve your running and to help your muscles handle the stress of whatever activity you’re doing.

​Nutrition is particularly important in the second type of shin splints. These often result from a combination of poor nutrition and too high of a training load.

​Through all of this, keep MOVING!
 
Often, pain will arise from big changes in training load.
 
For example, maybe you were consistently running 30 miles/week and then decided to up it to 50 miles/week and BOOM - shin splints.
 
Instead of taking a complete break from running and resting it, try dropping it back down to 30 miles/week.

If you can run without pain (or with pain that’s stable and predictable and not getting worse), then you can slowly add on weekly miles (weeks-months) until you're able to consistently hit your new weekly goal of 50 miles.
 
If it’s the case where you need to limit your movement of the painful or injured area, then be creative in keeping the rest of your body moving.
 
This is where cross-training is a great option (and honestly should be a regular part of any exercise plan).

Continuing to move and stay active will help you recover more quickly and help you avoid some of the loss of strength and endurance that typically accompany injury. 

Bottom line: Get and stay strong, build recovery into your training, and make sure you're fueling your body!

​Or we assume that a pickup game of basketball or some weekend hiking will keep us solid.
 
The problem is, life doesn’t care if we’re busy – it’s going to keep coming regardless.
 
And as nice it would be, our bodies don’t stay well-tuned while we’re waiting for time to take care of them.
 
Our bodies simply prepare for the future we ask them too.

​And all too often, the future we ask them to prepare for doesn’t involve much movement. It’s a lot of sitting around interspersed with occasional and unpredictable bursts of activity.
 
All of a sudden, we do more than we were prepared for…and we get injured.
 
Then we blame it on getting older, or on a bad back, or on just plain bad luck.
 
When, if we’re being honest with ourselves, it was more about poor preparation.

​This isn’t to say that there aren’t cases of bad luck, or that getting older doesn’t bring some changes.
 
Yet even in those situations, wouldn’t it still serve us better to have a body that was already functioning well? A body that was more resilient that could bounce back quicker after injury or setbacks?

Building a foundation of strength and aerobic fitness can help prepare us for whatever comes our way.

Load is the total amount of stress (physical, psychological, etc.) that’s put on our system (muscles, bones, nervous system, etc).

​Capacity refers to our body’s ability to handle that load.

​If we have a high capacity-to-load ratio, our body will be able to handle a ton of load, and we’ll be less likely to get injured with a given effort.

Check out this awesome video that explains this concept in more depth.
 
Let’s take a look at a few examples to reinforce the concept:

It's here that we often go wrong in "Weekend Warrior" mode - we haven't built our capacity up enough to handle the stresses of whatever we're doing - hiking, trail running, basketball, pickle-ball, etc. 

Our workouts the rest of the week (or lack thereof) don't support our hobbies, and so we get injured.

While our bodies are incredible at adapting, the only way to build up successfully is through consistent, long-term effort and training. 

And the payoff extends to so many different body systems.

Regular strength training and aerobic exercise also impact how our bodies fight off invaders.

​Exercise can help strengthen our immune system, making us less likely to get sick in the first place, and less likely to experience severe symptoms when we do get sick.

So, how much exercise do you need to support your hobbies and all of the other things you love to do?

The best place to start is where you're at​, and work your way up from there.

Drastically increasing how often and how intensely you exercise is a recipe for injury and setbacks.

​Increase time first and then look at increasing the intensity of your exercise.

With strength training, make sure you understand how to do the exercises, and be able to do them with good form before loading the exercises up.

With aerobic fitness, you should look at an 80/20 split between low-intensity and high-intensity. Knowing your heart rate zones will help you get the most out of every workout and keep you from getting burnt out.

If you feel like you need some help here, consider Becoming Body Smart . In our 6-month program, you'll learn how to design your live and develop your habits to support a lifetime of health and fitness.

Sometimes, life feels so hectic you might wonder how you could fit anything else in - the times you can swing getting out and being active are already few and far between - and adding in anything else seems exhausting.

So before you look at adding in new or more exercise, see what you can subtract. Is there anything you're doing right now that you could stop doing?

For example:

Say NO to more things

This can be really difficult - most of us have a lot of obligations. And the shame we feel over not having superhuman abilities to manage everything perfectly, can lead us to overpromise and overextend ourselves, until we feel completely overwhelmed and exhausted.

That sucks.

​Allowing ourselves the grace to say "No" to more things can give enough breathing room to re-orient ourselves and decide how we really want to spend out time

Now that you've found some of the things you can remove, here's a few things to add that will give you more bang for your buck. 

Anything you add in should be high-impact.

For example:

Get more sleep

Most adults in the US don't get nearly enough sleep. And the problem is only getting worse.

Yet sleep is important for so many different things. It helps our bodies repair, recover, and rebuild. It helps us think more clearly, make better decisions, and helps us learn and remember better.

Setting up your schedule and your routines to help you get more sleep is crucial. The payoffs on getting quality sleep are exponential. ​

Take more "movement snacks"

I don't remember where I first heard it, but I've long loved the concept of "movement snacks."

It's the idea of taking little breaks throughout your day to add in more activity/movement. 

Things like taking a walk around your office or house every 30 minutes.

Or doing 10 jumping jacks every hour on the hour.

Or taking a walk in nature on a lunch break or between errands.

Our bodies love movement - they weren't designed for small bursts of movement and long stretches of inactivity; they were designed for long stretches of movement, and short bursts of inactivity (not counting sleep - if you've already forgotten about the importance of sleep, go back to the last section).

When you put in the time and effort to make fitness a foundational part of your regular routine it will support everything else you do. You'll have the energy and the capacity to handle whatever comes your way.

You can be an every day warrior, not just on the weekends.

For more information on getting the most out of your fitness efforts, check out our blog post on the 5 Key Principles to Avoiding Sabotaging Your Fitness Sabotage or download the FREE 5 Keys eBook! 

​When your feet start hurting, you might be racking your mind trying to figure out what happened.
 
And it might feel like your feet just decided to betray you. But if you look back at the past couple of weeks or months, you can often identify some changes that may have triggered what you’re dealing with now.
 
Two of the biggest indicators to look at are training volume changes and lifestyle changes.

Training volume is a combination of intensity, duration, load, and frequency – or, how difficult, how long, how heavy, and how often you’re training.
 
The body is pretty incredible at adapting given enough time and recovery to adapt. But all too often we make a big change, and the body can’t keep up.
 
Take a look back at the past few months and see if you can identify any changes in the way you train.

Have you:

• Started a new exercise program?
• Upped how many days/week you train?
• Added in more time training each day?
• Added a new mode of exercise into your training (e.g., trail running, HIIT workouts, etc.)?
• Competed in an event (e.g. race, mud run)?

​Changes in your pattern of exercise can actually be a good thing (e.g., cross training to reduce injuries, adding in lifting to build strength), but if it’s too much too fast, then injury can occur.

​Something that’s often missed that can have a big impact on pain and injury is any significant changes in your life or lifestyle. To the body, stress is stress. That is, all types of stress (whether physical or mental, etc.) tax the body, making withdrawals from your “body budget.”
 
And if a change here causes you to overdraw day after day (leaving your body with fewer resources to put towards recovery), then injury can occur.
 
Do a review of your major stressors over the past few weeks and months and see what stands out.

Have you:

• Had a change in occupation (e.g., going from sitting all day to standing all day)?
• Experienced a change in sleep quantity and/or quality?
• Been trying to meet a deadline at work?
• Experienced a stressful event (e.g., car crash, death of a loved one)

Sometimes the changes can more gradual. If over the last several years or decades you’ve let fitness slip and put on a few pounds, even the simple rigor of daily activities can compound until you’re struggling with plantar fasciitis.
 
Did you know that the plantar fascia helps to support our whole bodyweight when we take a step?
 
The problem is – it’s not meant to do that alone.
 
Muscles and tendons in the foot and calves play a supportive role as well. And if they’re too weak, then more stress gets tossed on the plantar fascia.
 
And the heavier we are (whether that’s fat or muscle), the more stress with each step, so maintaining a healthy bodyweight is helpful here too.

​If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, then what should you do?
 
There are a few different things to look at:

​Simple changes can go a long way in helping your body recover and adapt. You probably don’t need to stop running or doing other exercise you love. Just modify and build up more slowly.

​Avoid Stretching
​
This is usually one of people’s first go-to’s, but it often exacerbates things in the long-term and leaves less time to do things that have a bigger impact.

Check out this article that does a deeper dive into why stretching won't give you the benefits you think it will (with references for the science-nerds).

Strengthen, Strengthen, Strengthen.
​
Building up strength and coordination in your feet, your calves, and your hips/core make the biggest long-term impact for dealing with plantar fasciitis once and for all.
 
Strength training will improve your body’s ability distribute force appropriately, so that the plantar fascia doesn’t have to take all the load.

You'll hear a lot about orthotics, stretching, massage, injection, surgeries, etc. All of these can somewhat help in the short-term with symptoms, but they don't fix the problem.

Exercise addresses the root cause and is the only thing that will solve the problem forever.

We hope this information helps, and that you can get on your way to getting some relief and getting over plantar fasciitis!
 
If you need more help, we’ve created a step-by-step program to guide you from turning down the pain to beating plantar fasciitis once and for all! You can learn more HERE. (Use the code ENDPAINNOW to get 15% off)
 
Or you can schedule a FREE consult with one of our experts, who will help you figure the next right steps for your health, by clicking RIGHT HERE.
​

We’re so consumed with how imperfect we feel, that we don’t leave time or space to reflect on our decisions and learn from them.

But when we look at trials as learning opportunities, we recognize that whether the results are bad or good, there’s an opportunity for growth. The only permanent failure is when we stop trying. Until then, our failures become lessons learned that help us make better decisions in the future.

We can’t say we’ll never make mistakes, so it’s all about how quickly we course correct.

A plane traveling from San Francisco to New York, doesn’t fly in a perfectly straight, undeviating line. There are small variations outside of course due to a variety of factors, and so the pilot or navigation system must regularly make course corrections.

​A variance of a few degrees over a short distance doesn’t amount to much, but over larger distances can be the difference between getting to your destination and winding up somewhere totally different.

Individual choices or mistakes may not be leading us towards our goals, but if we take time to regularly reflect on our decisions and course correct, we'll stay on course with those goals.

You don’t have to touch the hot stove to learn - you can learn from the best of what others have already learned. This, however, takes humility and a willingness to practice. Sometimes you learn not to touch the hot stove, and other times you learn how to design a glove that can protect you from the hot stove.

When we’re learning from or taking counsel from others, however, it’s important that we grade that counsel.

​We should be much more willing to listen to those who have been in the arena and come out successfully vs those who are on the sidelines telling us all the ways we might fail, yet have never tried the thing themselves. The advice we get from others is sometimes based on their fears vs our abilities.

​(Remember, some people have 20 years of experience, and others have 1 year of experience, repeated 20 times).

​And contrary to what we might often think or feel, finding out what doesn’t work can be just as valuable as what does work.

You can use all your decisions as a guide to make wiser and better decisions in the future. When you make a mistake or when things aren't working out how you expected, it doesn't mean you need to scrap everything. Take the good that you've learned and then add to it the wisdom of others and the wisdom of your own experience. 

If you look at Steve Jobs when he got kicked out of Apple - his own company - then you would likely look at him as a failure. But if you fast forward to the late 2000s with the introduction of the iPhone, and even further forward to today when Apple has a market cap of $2.2 trillion, then we see his efforts as an incredible success.

Making mistakes and learning from them is a necessary part of life – watch any toddler as they're learning to walk and run.

Mistakes aren't the problem – it's how we respond to them, and whether or not we're willing to learn.

Do we course correct when we get off track?

Do we learn from others?

Do we think like scientists?

Do we use decisions as data points​?

How do we determine our successes vs failures?

Are we so focused on results that we never improve or update our process for making better decisions?

If work is a mess and you're not managing stress well, it’s likely to spill over into other areas of your life.

And if you're not eating well or getting enough sleep, your work is likely to suffer.

​A way that's been beneficial is to look at how you’re doing in different domains of health.

​Precision Nutrition has an awesome model for this  - they call it ‘Deep Health.’

The idea is that if we’re neglecting any one of these areas, our health as a whole is likely to suffer.


Considering our performance in these different areas can help us consider why we’re feeling off-balance in the first place.


There’s this myth out there that you have to grind it out to have a successful and meaningful life.


And embedded in that myth is another myth - that you don’t have time to take care of yourself.

Can I share with you a list of reasons I’ve had for why this won’t work in my life?

• “I’ve tried this already.”
• “I really don’t have enough time.”
• “That’s only for people that are in [X, Y, Z] situation.”
• “I don’t even know where to start.”
• “It’s too hard.”
• “I can’t stick with this long enough to make it work.”
• “I’m just too tired.”

At the end of the day, those were all just excuses to justify the feelings I was having inside: uncertainty, anxiety, exhaustion, fear, disbelief.

Why do I know they were excuses? Because when I committed to making the change things got better - the reasons weren’t valid anymore.

Does that mean I’m perfect with any of it?

Nope.

But do I feel better and more in control and more hopeful when I’m taking care of myself in these different areas?

Absolutely.

Let's look at a couple of principles that can help you take better care of yourself in each of those different domains

When you take the time to be intentional about what you're doing with your time, you make better decisions.

That means you need time to think and time to plan.

And it doesn’t have to be much - even 15-20 minutes to consider the most important things to get done tomorrow and planning those out makes a big difference,

That doesn’t mean tomorrow works out perfectly, but because you have a direction, you can evaluate your choices against that direction, rather than reacting to everything in real-time.

​A mentor said to me once, “It’s not that what you’re doing is wrong, it’s that it’s in the wrong order.”

That is, I wasn’t prioritizing things in a way that set me up for daily success.

I know that when I sleep well and  exercise, everything else goes better.

So getting to bed on time sets me up well for the next day.

Exercising first thing helps me wake up and get out of the negative thought spiral that often shows up first thing in the morning.

So those things are a priority - they get planned in before the other things in the day because they matter so much for  all the other things in my day.

Trying to fit in time for mental health, social activity, exercise, etc. can seem really daunting.

But are there ways that you can be creative in fitting those things in?

On my way to work I usually listen to audiobooks. I’m already taking the time to drive, but I can get also get in some intellectual stimulation too.

Last night I took the paddle board out to the middle of a pond near where I live, and then I read — physical + mental.

And then when a storm blew and I had to jump out, I got a chance to talk with strangers while I helped them carry their kayaks back — social

There’s a ton of ways to mix and match domains.

Experiment and find out what works for your situation.

Understandably, the example was built in a perfect world, and life isn’t that.

It rarely goes according to plan.

You woke up sick. The car wouldn’t start. The meeting went over. Family emergency. You say something unkind. Someone says something unkind to you. You need a new refrigerator.

There will always be something. And some thing will always fill your time.

The argument could be made though, that even though things won’t always go as you want or expect, you’ll still be better served by making your health a priority.

The better your health, the greater the capacity (e.g., physical & emotional resources) you'll have to devote to the problem at hand.

If you don’t choose to take time to be well, you will be forced to take time to be ill.

And remember that it’s not about perfection – it’s about consistently trying.

Consistently taking action to live more in alignment with who you want to be.

This one life hack will change everything....

Did I get your attention? Good. Because it's true - it just won't change it in the way you thought it would.

Most of the "life hacks" out there try to shortcut the problem.

But what they ultimately do is short-circuit your growth.

Why?

Because they’re addressing the branches of the tree instead of the roots.

And if the roots aren’t strong, the tree won’t grow.

​They distract you with tips and tricks to get around inefficiency or procrastination or patience instead of directing you to look inward and consider why you’re having issues with that in the first place.

The time you save in consistency adds up and puts you ahead of everyone who's still focused on short-term achievements.

It puts you ahead of your own tendency for instant gratification, and trains you to live in a sustainable healthy way.

​On race day, you want to be prepared for peak performance. All the time, energy, and effort you’ve put into training is about to pay off in a big way. You’re ready to climb to the top of the pack and bust open those PRs!
 
So how do you make sure you’re actually ready when race day comes? What are some of the practices that will keep you on the road and keep you performing at your best?

​Let’s focus in on 3 topics – 80/20 Training, Recovery, Mindset

​When we combine years of research with what wins time and time again in the field, we find the most effective way to train is in a polarized fashion - more time on the low & high-intensity ends and less in the middle (where most runners tend to train). 
 
Specifically, spending about 80% of the time in low-intensity training (Zones 1-2), and about 20% of the time in high intensity (Zones 4-5), with some moderate intensity training (Zone 3) mixed in as well.
 
This creates an ideal stimulus for our bodies to adapt to the specific demands of running and keep us constantly improving.
 
And while the exact nature of our training will change from Base through Peak and on to Taper, we want to keep that ratio roughly the same.
 
Now, lets’ take a look at those phases!

Here, we’re all about that base! (Cue the Meghan Trainor)

​Building a solid aerobic base is incredibly important. You need a strong foundation to build speed, power, and performance on top of.
 
Lots of low-intensity training (the 80 of 80/20), drives some important adaptations that improve our overall fitness and allow us to absorb a greater overall load.
 
Let’s touch on a couple of those:
 
Increased capillary density – your body builds more blood vessel highways to traffic oxygenated blood  faster and more efficiently to the working muscles that need it!
 
Increased mitochondrial density – you remember now…mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell! The more mitochondria we have in action, the better we are at utilizing fat as a fuel source to keep us going, and going, and going, and going…
​
This means a lot of time on your feet, building the physical and mental toughness you’ll need to carry you through the rest of training and on into race day.

​​This is where we really dial things in in terms of speed, power, and absolute performance. It involves more race-specific training
 
Here, the 20 of our 80/20 involves a lot more time in the highest of high-intensity (top end of zone 4 and into zone 5).
 
We start doing less in terms of things like fast-finish or tempo runs, and get in a lot more specific speedwork. We really want to push the envelope and start trying to build top-end speed.

​​Remember though - you still want to stick to the 80/20 protocol. This is where a lot of people beat themselves up too much and get behind in their training. They feel like they can overtrain, and that often ends up setting them back. In peak, again, while there’s going to be a lot more high, high-intensity work, it’s still staying within that 20% to make sure you’re getting adequate recovery.

​You don’t want to be so depleted that it’s going to take your entire taper to recover. You really don’t want to be depleted all the time  – that’s a common misconception; if you’re always beat up and always depleted, your speed workouts that you’re trying to do are not going to be quite as effective.
 
If you still stick to that 80/20, then each one of your speed workouts can be a really quality speed workout.

​Make sure you get balance in your life as well as your training so you really can have quality workouts. Going to bed earlier, making sure nutrition is on point (maybe more so than in your base phase)  – really dialing in those things for a period of time, so you can be all charged up and ready to go for race day.
 
One more thing – again, you want to be specific for the peak phase. Keep in mind what type of race you’re training for. Are there lots of hills or downhills? What kind of terrain are you running on? Are you at elevation?
 
Make sure that you’re getting the right kind of training in so you’re prepared for your specific race.

Here's where we want to start winding down our training and get ourselves prepared and fresh for race day!

How long and quickly you taper that training will depend a lot on your previous training experience and learning how your body best responds. Some athletes choose days for this period while others go more on the scale of weeks. This is where having an individualized and adjustable program can be really helpful.

This is not the period to try throwing in something new to try to get that little bit of extra speed. None of that will make you faster, and might, in fact, make you slower. Stay active, but allow time for increased recovery, knowing you've already prepared well for race day.

We’d be remiss if we didn’t talk about one of the most important parts of training, and that’s RECOVERY!
 
Our bodies are amazing and can adapt to perform some truly amazing feats - but they need time to build, heal, and adapt. Here at Body Smart, we always tell our athletes:
 
You don’t get stronger and faster working out. You get stronger and faster RECOVERING from working out.

​Our bodies need sufficient time to absorb the load of our training and respond in a healthy and meaningful way. If we’re always going, going, going, and we never give ourselves a chance to rest, then ultimately our bodies don’t have a sufficient chance to adapt and we run a greater risk for injury.
 
It can be easy to look at elite athletes and see their training profiles and try to match it because, “that’s what the pros do.” It’s the wrong focus - the question we should be asking ourselves is ‘’What did they do to get where they are at today?”
 
When we ask that question, we find that the way they got where they are is (partially due to genetics - DANG they lucked out!) is that they exposed their bodies to progressive overload, taking time for adequate rest and recovery, for years or even decades, and their bodies responded in kind.
 
Another thing we find is that they take an active approach to recovery. This means they keep moving even on their rest days. And often, they introduce things like cross-training into their cycles to take a rest from sport-specific movements while still moving their bodies
 
So if the best can take time for recovery, so can you - and hey, maybe one day you’ll be the best too!

Now, everyone has their favorite ways to recover, but there are two elements of recovery that are vital, and if not taken care of adequately, will come back to bite us in the butts further down the road - NUTRITION & SLEEP

​Adopting a diet that gives us all the nutrients (macro and micro) that we need is essential. When it comes to specific diets, we tend to remain agnostic, but with a caveat - whatever diet you choose, focus on adding in whole, unprocessed foods, and keep your plate colorful (that means plenty of fruits, vegetables, and your more colorful starches - I’m looking at you Skittles guy!)

​Quality sleep is important for optimal recovery and vital for performance. Keeping a consistent sleep schedule and trying to get 7-9 hours (on average) helps to ensure our bodies have time to heal, regenerate, and process everything they need to stay healthy.

​Okay, now that we’ve gotten the big things taken care of, here’s a few of the things we and our athletes have found relaxing or helpful:

• IASTM
• Compression Boots
• BFR
• Massage
• Foam Rolling
• E-Stim

 
There’s many other options to choose from, so try some of them out, pick your favorites, and continue to live that fit and healthy lifestyle!

​So, you’ve gotten your training dialed in and you’re doing an amazing job at being consistent. You’re eating the healthiest you have in years, and you’re feeling great!
 
But where’s your mind at?
 
Have you taken the time to make sure you’ve got your mental space cleared out and your mindset right?
 
We’ve talked to so many people who have prepared themselves physically for the demands of their sport, but have found themselves unprepared to manage the mental game on race day, or find the other stressors in their lives spilling over into training.
 
So how do we set ourselves up for success in this area as well as prepare ourselves for setbacks and side steps?

​​Having a mindfulness routine can be key in helping manage some of those stressors. And that looks different for different people. For some, it’s a daily meditation practice (apps like Calm or Headspace can be nice intros to this); for others, it’s a mantra they can repeat.

The bottom line is this - Establish a centering practice or routine you can turn to when things don’t go the way you planned or expected.
 
We each respond to the different stressors in our lives in a variety of ways - some of them healthy, others not so much. While we can’t escape stress or hardship or control the outcome of everything that happens in our lives, we do get to choose whether we’re proactive or reactive.
 
Having a proactive plan in place (like a mindfulness practice) for when things go differently than we expected can help us avoid the negative self-talk that often trips us up and instead turn our focus towards creative problem-solving (less ‘Why Me?’ and more “How do accomplish this?)
 
For some more ideas on ways to get your mindset dialed in, check out our recent Instagram post here.

​Hopefully you’ve gotten so good ideas that will help you hit the ground running ;)
 
Now get out there and crush those goals!!

1. Plan it into your calorie BUDGET!
   You can always adjust your calories throughout your day or week to make the budget BALANCE
   
   
2. SEPARATE out your portion – don’t snitch or eat directly from the bowl
   This is a great way to cut down on appetizer binge.  It also applies to all those bakers out there.  Careful with the tasting, there’s still calories in just a taste.
   
   
3. You don’t have to eat EVERYTHING!
   Scan the table and make a plan. You're supposed to enjoy the holidays! Take only the food you really LOVE and ENJOY it!
   
   
4. Watch out for drinks and cocktails
   Drinking calories is a big mindless eating trap! It's hard to know how much you’ve really consumed and it can bust your calorie budget fast.
   
   
5. Don’t give up on your WORKOUTS!
   I know it's a busy season, but cutting out the workouts just compounds the problem. Knowing that you have to work out in the morning is often a great motivator to not overdo it at night.
   
   
6. DON'T GO HUNGRY!!
   Make sure you have a SNACK (100 calories even) before you go.  This will curb the ravenous attack on the buffet table.
   
   
7. Weigh yourself often!
   This can help you stay on track and help remind you of your health goals.
   
   
8. Be LAST in line!
   You’ll take fewer seconds and you’ll have more time and less pressure to make a plan so you make CHOICES instead of REACTIONS to food. The food will also look a bit less appetizing so you’re less tempted to try everything.
   
   

BONUS: Try using the DESSERT PLATE as your entree plate.  This will help you be less tempted to take as much.  You’ll only have room for the foods you CHOOSE instead of just filling your plate!

Follow these simple tips and you can have a better shot at keeping on track through the Holidays! Now you can use your resolutions for something other than “Lose 10 Pounds.”

If you’d like to learn more about avoiding weight gain during the holidays contact Body Smart. Call 801-479-4471 today!

I almost don’t need to add a thing to this post.  It pretty much explains itself.  But that just wouldn’t be me…

If you’ve read my other top fitness tips, you’d probably already realized that my emphasis is on consistency, not intensity.  The brand of fitness most of us are really going for is simply to look and feel better.  The biggest factor in achieving this is simply to be consistent.  It takes effort every day to get up and get moving and to make healthy choices with our diet.

Working out crazy hard a couple of days a week then taking required recovery time in between won’t give us the same benefit as simply doing moderate daily exercise.  Daily high intensity exercise often leads to fatigue, injury and a body shape that you weren’t looking for. To get the shape and feel you want from your workouts, give your body what it was designed for and you’ll find more success.

What is our body designed for then?  Think back to our ancestors 2000 or even 200 years ago.  What did they do for their exercise?  I’m not aware of them routinely doing 45 minutes of high intensity cardio or strength training  and then sitting at a desk for the rest of the day.  I don’t think that they lifted really heavy things repeatedly just for fun and then lead a relatively sedentary life otherwise.

Instead, our bodies have been programmed through literally thousands of years of low to moderate intensity work all day long.  They went to bed and got up early.  Ate as much variety as they could.  Sometimes that was pretty limited, but we’ve solved that problem a little too well.  Exercise and crazy diets weren’t a part of their lifestyle.  They simply were constantly active throughout the day.

So, for thousands of years our bodies adapted to operating this way.  Instead of living and exercising this way though, we do crazy intense workouts and extreme diets.  These mimic the starvation and stressors which caused our ancestors to store fat, build up reserves and bulkier bodies to weather the storms of life.  So why don’t we give our bodies what they're designed for?

THE FOURTH METABOLIC FITNESS TIP TO AVOID FITNESS SABOTAGE
​
Find out what YOUR body really needs

• Learn from properly educated professionals
• Resting metabolic test
  • Determine caloric requirements
  • Avoid hunger and starvation
• Exercise metabolic test
  • Learn how to burn fat most effectively for YOUR body chemistry
  • Avoid hunger and depletion
• Nutritional consultation if needed
• Hormone level testing if needed
• Use data to match fitness efforts to your fitness goals
  
  

One of the most important tips for avoiding fitness sabotage is to discover exactly what YOUR body needs to be healthy.  This can be a difficult thing simply because there are many factors which determine an individual’s overall health.  Learning what it is YOUR body needs can make the difference between accomplishing your goals and staying stuck on the hamster wheel of hard work and lackluster results.  I’ll sum up what I’m about to say in a single idea (and then I’ll expound of course – that’s what Garbers do best): Get the right help and then use it to match your health and fitness goals to your diet and exercise efforts.

Getting the right help is critical.  This can come from several sources.  Before you start any fitness regimen it is important to talk to health care professionals and get appropriate screening done to make sure your heart is healthy enough to exercise.  It’s also a great idea to consult with a Physical Therapist before beginning (I know I’m biased, here comes the advertisement for PT).  A Physical Therapist is the most qualified licensed professional as they are regulated by a state governing board.  Physical Therapy is now a Doctoring profession and the only one licensed and trained to prescribe exercise.  I’m not trying to insult or diminish the experience of others in the fitness industry in any way.  It is just important to make sure the person you’re trusting your health with is knowledgeable, safe and qualified.  A PT is a good bet for getting accurate information and a safe start.

As you go through your fitness journey you may find you need help in many areas.  Screening with your physician and building a basic workout plan with your PT are important, but nutrition may be the most important factor in success.  Many patients may struggle to know what to eat and how make healthy food choices.  I am not and don’t claim to a be nutritionist.  This is a very sticky situation and a touchy subject.  With the metabolic testing I’m able to give people exact guidelines of how many calories to eat based on their metabolism.  I do not tell people what to eat though.  I emphasize general nutritional guidelines from the Department of Health and Human services and USDA.  That is within the scope of my practice under the guidelines of my professional license.  I give only general tips and tricks on how to avoid mindless eating and improve decision making.

Anyone who claims to be a “nutritionist” or “certified nutrition specialist” or “sports nutrition specialist” and doesn’t have a Masters level degree in Nutrition or Dietetics isn’t necessarily qualified.  Some of those qualifications can be earned only from a Groupon deal over a weekend.  Their continuing education often comes from a magazine with a naked body builder on the front.  If the first thing they start talking about is your mix of “macros” or expensive supplements, red flags should go up.  Be very suspect of non-professionals, professionals (meaning they obtained a degree and are registered or licensed with the state), or even doctoring professions who give meal plans or nutritional advice.  They may have done research on their own or done some courses on the subject, but that wasn’t the focus of their education.  Do your research into the education and experience of the person who is counseling you.  It is your health, protect it.  If you really want to know what you should be eating, you need to talk to a licensed Nutritionist or Dietician. (ok, rant over)

Nutrition is critical, but may not be the only stumbling block in achieving your goals.  Often, people are doing all the right things – they’re eating sensibly and being consistent with exercise and still not losing weight.  When this is the case it is often important to consult with a physician about having blood work done.  Often times it can be something simple such as iron or vitamin D deficiencies.  Other times people have trouble with thyroid, pituitary or adrenal hormones.  Your physician can help you go down the path of discovering if there are imbalances in your levels.  They can work with you to find safe solutions.  This process isn’t always a quick fix and levels will have to be adjusted to find out how best to help you specifically.  Over time though, you and your physician can find a healthy balance which allows you to see success with your fitness efforts again.

THE THIRD METABOLIC FITNESS TIP TO AVOID FITNESS SABOTAGE

Listen to your body

• Diet
• Exercise – careful with the “one more rep” – keep perfect form
  ​

My next top tip may be the most difficult part of finding real success in a fitness plan – listening to your body.  It seems simple, but often times we hear our mind chirping and think it is coming from our body.  With both diet and exercise we will find so much more fitness success if we can tune in to what our body really wants us to do.  The hard part to this is differentiating between what the mind wants, and what the body really needs.

On the diet side of things it is critical to listen to your body.  No matter how you gauge how many calories you should be eating, we fluctuate on caloric need a little bit each day.  The key part is to listen and eat early.  This will help us to avoid hunger.  Hunger leads to cravings which often make us often overeat.  It is important to be able to make decisions about our diet instead of reactions to food.  When we are hungry, we make reactions instead of conscious decisions.  By listening to our bodies and eating 100-200 calories as soon as we start to feel hungry, it curbs our hunger and allows us to go into our next meal ready to make decisions.

Another decision helper is to listen to our body while eating.  Slowing down and taking the time to notice when we are satisfied with a meal.  Too often we eat until we are full.  We eat big meals and then feel guilt afterwards about how much we ate after the reaction was already made.  Take the power back by trying to notice during your meal when the hunger ends.  Take a second, have a drink of water and give yourself a few minutes.  If you’re still hungry, keep eating.  If you’re really not hungry and you’re satisfied at that point, then you are probably good to stop.  We often listen more to cues like “clean your plate” or “don’t let it go to waste,” than we do to our bodies.  This causes us to eat mindlessly and eat more than we want to.  Instead of being able to make a decision, we just react.  

THE SECOND METABOLIC FITNESS TIP TO AVOID FITNESS SABOTAGE

Be in control!

• Slow repetitions
• Be able to stop at any time
• Use perfect form EVERY rep
  
  

When it comes to fitness, I’m a bit of a control freak! I have seen way too many times what happens when exercise gets out of control.  Injuries often plague those who are just starting out with a new exercise regimen.  It is also common to see experienced fitness enthusiasts develop an overuse injury.  Other common injuries come because of very high intensity, high weight momentum-based strengthening exercises.  Often the cause of these injuries in each category is due to lack of control.  The primary areas of control that will help you avoid injury are intensity, form, and progression of exercise.

To curb both the metabolic effects of high-intensity exercise, and to avoid injury, you have to take control of your exercise program. I talked at length in my last post about the implications of high intensity exercise.  Check it out here for more information on how high intensity affects your health and metabolism.  It is important you make sure your fitness efforts are matching your fitness goals.  I mention in previous posts how our goals are often not to become bigger, faster, stronger, but instead to be lean and feel great.

Often, exercises which help you become bigger, faster, stronger are based on building your power.  This means they are based on quick, explosive movements.

Although great for high school and college athletes, for the weekend warriors, power training often creates situations where momentum takes over, form falls apart and injury becomes inevitable. I see injuries from these events in the clinic all the time now.  I have talked to several orthopedic surgeons about these styles of momentum-based strength training and they report they are also seeing an increasing number of injuries requiring surgery. 

​When deciding on a fitness program you have to consider your true goal.  Are you looking to become a better athlete, or just get in better shape?  If you just want to get in better shape and feel good, you’re probably better off taking it easier on your body.  Sticking to a moderate fitness regimen based on steady, controlled strengthening will help you achieve your goal more effectively without the risk of injury.

In my last post I shared my top 5 tips for ensuring that your Fitness Goals and Fitness Efforts are in-sync (not the boy band).   These principles of exercise are foundational in helping you achieve the health and body you’re working hard to obtain.  With this post I’d like to begin taking each of those 5 key points and explaining them in more detail (if you’ve met me you might be scared about how much detail:)

Principle #1
​
Work smarter, not harder!

• Make sure your training matches your goals
• You don’t have to kill yourself
• Avoid depletion, injury and hunger
  
  

Although it may seem cliché, the principle of “Work Smarter, Not Harder” is critical in fitness.  There is no sense in working super hard without actually ‘working your butt off.’  As long as you’re putting in the time and effort you might as well be seeing the results.

To be able to work smarter you have to really break down what you want for your health.  Are you looking to get bigger, faster, and stronger? OR Are you really just looking to feel good, be healthy and maybe even look good in your jeans.  If your goal is the latter, working out harder isn’t likely going to be the best way for you to reach your goal.  You have to make sure that the focus of your training matches your goal.  If you want to be thinner, healthier and look better, then doesn’t it stand to reason that doing exercises which are intended to make you bigger, faster, and stronger aren’t what you’re looking for?  Often the fitness industry has a hard time differentiating between the two goals.

Current fitness trends focus on a militarized version of fitness where you have to be in pain, sweating all over the place and taking your fitness to “insane” levels.  The emphasis is on killing yourself to get “the body you always wanted.” The message is that the harder you work the more benefit you’ll get.  The problem with the message is simply, the body you always wanted is likely not the body that that type of workout is going to help you build.   For 20-somethings who are already in relatively good shape and committed to eating a very strict diet despite hunger levels, these programs might be successful.  High reps of burpees and box jumps can truly help people get faster and stronger.  For most of us though it often leads to depletion, hunger, injury and often – to unsustainable weight loss.

​

1. Work smarter, not harder!​
   • You don’t have to kill yourself
   • Avoid depletion, injury and hunger
   • Make sure your training matches your goals
2. Be in control!
   • Slow repetitions
   • Be able to stop at any time
   • Use perfect form EVERY rep
3. Listen to your body
   • Diet
   • Exercise-careful with the “one more rep”, keep perfect form
4. Find out what YOUR body really needs
   • Learn from properly educated professionals
   • Resting metabolic test
     • Determine caloric requirements
     • Avoid hunger and starvation
   • Exercise metabolic test
     • Learn how to burn fat most effectively for YOUR body chemistry
     • Avoid hunger and depletion
   • Nutritional consultation if needed
   • Hormone level testing if needed
   • Use this data to match fitness efforts to your fitness goals
5. Consistency is KEY!

Take a mental image of your posture right now. If you’re like most of us, you’re slouching down in your chair, back and shoulders rounded, with your head forward and tilted down. While this may feel comfortably lazy, your positioning could be a major contributor to neck and back problems. But don’t despair – today is your lucky day! Read on to find out how 5 simple changes in ergonomics could help solve your neck or back pain!

Ergonomics: a term we throw around hoping to sound smart, with no clue what it actually means. Something about proper wrist placement while typing, right? In reality, ergonomics refers to the design of objects and spaces for people. It means composing the environment around you into something that fits your whole-body mechanics, putting the least stress possible on your joints while still allowing for optimal performance. Imagine that, building something that people will actually be comfortable using!

Low back pain is one of the most common complaints we see as physical therapists. While the root cause can vary, back pain is usually made worse by the horrible postures we adopt for hours each day. Check out our post on the 5 most common causes of back pain to learn more about how positioning affects your back.

By following these 5 simple steps, you can save your back, neck and wallet from future unpleasantries.

If you currently have back, neck or wrist pain, making these changes along with physical therapy treatment can expedite your recovery and bring about lasting improvements in your lifestyle.  Come in to Body Smart to consult with an expert and start feeling better today!

Don’t have time to hit the gym today?  Wish you could just workout at home in your PJ’s? If you’re looking to start an easy, DIY home gym setup complete with all the equipment you need to take care of your body from head to toe, we’ve got you covered!

Today we’re sharing 8 essential and inexpensive products to complete your home gym. Keep reading for more!


As a physical therapist, I specialize in exercise prescription for keeping your body in top working order. Many times, we’re tasked with developing home exercise routines for individuals coming off of an injury. But what about you? If nothing ails you, can home-based workouts be worthwhile enough to get you in shape and prevent injuries? OF COURSE!!! It doesn’t take 1000’s of dollars worth of fancy home gym equipment to build muscle, strengthen the core, tone your body and rehab, or prevent injuries. Here are the 8 products I recommend that everybody own to outfit a pretty amazing home gym.

There are so many ways you can use a good exercise ball, it could merit its own post! An especially great way to work your core, an exercise ball can even double as a calorie-burning, ergonomic home office chair alternative! Turn a short exercise session into a total body workout with an exercise ball.

​This is another one of those universal fitness tools that both guys and gals can benefit from using. Whether with yoga, Pilates, stretching or strengthening, a comfortable mat can completely change the way you work out at home! Here are some of our favorite core strengthening exercises you can do with the help of a comfy yoga mat.

Getting a multidirectional grip pull-up bar allows for building some serious arm strength with just your body weight. Rather than using that questionably small tree limb or testing out your newly built deck awning, try using a well secured doorway pull-up bar as part of your next “arm” day. You won’t be disappointed!

Investing in a foam roller big enough to lay on (around 36”) can have great benefits for your back, shoulders or even your legs. Poor posture, stiff shoulders, or low back pain can all benefit from daily foam roller use as well as leg knots that come on after a good run. The more common black colored, compressed foam rollers will provide a little more aggressive treatment while the softer white foam rolls can be more comfortable, but might get a bit flattened over time.

Resistance bands can be a valuable (and portable) tool for building strength in the shoulders, arms, legs and even the core. Many of the same cable exercises you do in the gym can be adapted for home-use with a band. Fix your posture, bulk up your arms, get yourself some resistance bands!

Are you prone to rolling your ankle? Do you feel like your balance isn’t what it used to be? One of our more pricey suggestions, a Bosu ball still fits nicely into our list of essential home gym items. It might normally be seen as a dynamic balance trainer and rehab aid for coming back from a sprained ankle, but it doubles as an excellent core strengthener (are you seeing a pattern here?) and leg muscle builder. If a Bosu ball is out of your price range, one or two Dynadiscs can fill the need nicely, while adding some difficulty to your pushups, for example.

If you have weak hips, you’re at a much higher risk of having hip, knee, foot, or even back pain at some point in life. Using resistance loop bands are an excellent way to strengthen those hips! The ladies will appreciate their utility in firming and toning the glutes and hips, while the guys… well, our weak hips are often to blame for knee pain with running. In short, we could all use a little targeted work on our hips!

​You can’t beat dumbbells when it comes to the variety of exercises you can perform for strengthening and toning your upper (end even lower) body! A solid workout with dumbbells can be an excellent addition to your body weight and resistance band exercises for strength training and toning.

With all of the equipment listed, take care to perform each exercise you do with proper form, and always in a well-controlled manner to avoid getting injured.  You really can have a super-effective workout at home, whether your goal is to lose weight, build bulk or recover from an injury. Getting set up with the right tools can set you on the path to attaining excellent total body health and fitness!
​
Questions about any of the information presented in this post? Exercises you need advice on? Does a specific movement hurt when you do it? We’re happy to help! 

The Causes

Weakness

Many functional movements require what’s known as a co-contraction. Basically, this means 2 opposing muscles have to work together to create the desired movement.

In the case of a squat, muscles work together to lower you slowly toward the floor or a chair. The major players here are the quads slowing your knee flexion so you don’t fall backward, and the glutes and hamstring slowing your hip and trunk flexion so you bend down with control.

People with weakness in these muscles tend to sit rather hard, or “plop” down into their chair, because they can’t effectively control this movement. They also might find their knees tracking out over their toes to change their center of gravity a bit so they don’t plop down. This example of poor form can lead to injury and is often the cause of creaky knees.
​
Weakness in these muscles affects more than just squatting to sit. You need quads, glutes and hams to be strong in order to support normal walking and help you maintain balance. Weak muscles also fatigue more quickly, increasing your risk for poor control, falls, and other potentially injurious events.

Furthermore, strength deficits translate to power deficits. What’s the difference?

• Strength is the amount of force I can produce over a certain distance (e.g., being able to stand up at all)
• Power is how quickly I can do that in a certain amount of time (e.g., being able to stand quickly enough to maintain balance without falling)
  
  

Power is what helps you recover from something that may otherwise cause you to fall. Say I trip – if I have adequate power, I’m going to take a large step forward to compensate and catch myself. This widens my base of support and keeps my body weight between my feet, making it easier to balance and recover.

If I lack power, I will take short, stumbling, steps as I try to catch myself. This narrows my base of support, which makes it harder to balance and recover, creating the potential for falls.

Another common area of weakness in those struggling with squatting involves the hip external rotators. If these are weak, one of the consequences is the knees may buckle inward into an abnormal “valgus” or knock-kneed position. When this occurs we overload the lateral, or outside, compartment of the knee. Being knock-kneed also stresses the MCL, the big stabilizing ligament on the inside portion of the knee.

Flexibility

During a squat, there are a couple muscle groups undergoing a stretch—most commonly problematic, the hamstrings and calves. Tightness in these muscle groups can alter your squat form, not allowing your knees, hips, or ankles to bend as they should.

Quad tightness can also contribute to this, as counterintuitive as it may seem. The quads are undergoing what’s called an eccentric contraction, meaning they are contracting while also lengthening.

Tight muscles can affect your functional squat and result in more bending at the low back in order to reach the floor to pick something up. This can result in low back pain or injury.

In addition, many people wear flexible-soled shoes for exercise, including biking, which ends up absorbing most of your force, rather than transferring it to the bike to power you forward. This can be easily fixed with clipless pedals and shoes (yes, the name is totally deceiving—these are the pedals you clip in to). These are beneficial for several reasons:

First, they lock your foot into the most efficient position—again, with the ball directly over the spindle of the pedal.

Second, the shoes that go with these pedals have stiff soles that transfer a greater percentage of your power to your bike, so you get more benefit (because no one wants to waste energy).

Saddle height

Now we come to the perpetually uncomfortable bike seat.

Unfortunately, the feeling of the seat will just take some getting used to, but, if in the right position, it is achievable!

The seat height is adjusted based on the angles your legs are making. This will help you increase your efficiency and decrease your likelihood of injury (especially patellofemoral pain right over your kneecap that comes from overload).

Ideally, when your foot is on the pedal at its lowest point, your knee should be at an angle of 145-155 degrees, which is about 30 degrees short of full extension. This helps avoid that pressure over your kneecap, as well as avoid pulling on your hamstring tendons in the back of your leg.

When in this position, there should be a straight line from just below your kneecap to the spindle of the pedal. You may have to adjust the seat forward or backward to fine tune the fit.
​