FitWorks Burbank

Being hard on yourself slows down progress because it has you focusing on what’s NOT going well- and whatever you focus on repeatedly, is enhanced. But it can be a hard pattern to break! 🔗

Here are some tips for how to be easier on yourself, and 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐧:

📢 Focus on the group, instead of on yourself. Notice the group dynamics and get into conversation with others, make jokes, and appreciate other people’s sense of humor or characteristics. This will help you take the focus away from yourself.

📢 If you tend to be critical of yourself, name your inner-critic! Naming the voice of judgment, criticism, or comparison is an effective way to disidentify from that voice and realize you are not that voice. When you name the inner critic (give it any name!) it allows you to say, “no thank you” and choose to not listen!

📢 Smile! Cheesy? Perhaps, but physically smiling releases hormones that contribute to pain-relief and happiness. You can hold a light smile by simply focusing on the corners of your mouth and turning them upward. Even a small smile can change the way you think and feel.

We all know that sleep is the only time your body can truly recover from workouts and rebuild muscle! Plus, sufficient sleep helps with fat-loss, mental clarity, mood, and energy levels. 🥱😴

𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵, 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵.😩

𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗹𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗵𝘆𝗴𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝘅𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗲:
◾️ Don’t eat too late: Be sure to give your body time to digest after eating large meals. Try having dinner earlier in the evening.
◾️ Avoid caffeine: Beware of stimulants like coffee, energy drinks, and soda. If you do consume these, try to limit them to early in the day. If you find yourself drinking a lot of caffeine during the day, ask yourself if you’re making up for excessive daytime sleepiness.
◾️ Move your body: Schedule regular exercise to improve your sleep. While any movement during the daytime is good, it’s even better to get regular, moderate exercise a few days a week. Try to avoid working out too close to bedtime, giving your body a few hours after working out to wind down before bed.
◾️Get some light: Try exercising outdoors, as exposure to natural light during the day can help keep your body in sync with its natural sleep rhythms. A loose guideline for how much sun to get is however long it takes your skin to burn, spend half of that time in the sun, daily.

On rest days focus on lean protein, (which helps muscles recover), fresh fruits and veggies.
🌈𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗯𝗼𝘄, 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲.🌈
The vitamins and minerals in these foods play an important role in recovery.
For example, red or orange fruits and vegetables provide
beta carotene and other antioxidants to reduce inflammation.🍎🍊🥦🍆🍌

𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘥𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘢 𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺.

What’s your favorite HEALTHY way to add color on your plate? 🍛

Your 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐀𝐛𝐝𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬 (TVA) is responsible for:
Pulling your belly button in towards the spine, compressing the ribcage (when moving weight, or breathing), creating intra-abdominal pressure (bracing like we talked about in an earlier post), and assisting your lumbar spine through moving the pelvis and/or ribcage.

The TVA can’t actually activate without the assistance of other muscles like pelvic floor, obliques, and diaphragm, but there are some movements that give it more focused attention.

🆂🅸🅽🅶🅻🅴 🅻🅴🅶 🅶🅻🆄🆃🅴 🅱🆁🅸🅳🅶🅴🆂 are proven to demand more from the TVA- this is because movements that require rotation-resistance, resistance of the hips or ribcage moving side-to-side, or resistance of extension where the ribcage and pelvis move farther apart 𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗩𝗔 𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿!

👁‍🗨 All studies support the idea that more challenging versions of movements 𝗱𝗼 train the TVA! (like single-leg Glute bridge versus regular Glute Bridge for example).

Did you know there are two types of happiness? 😱

👉 𝐇𝐞𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐜 𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 is when our expectations or preferences for what makes us happy are balanced with our perceptions of life. “When things are good, it means I’m safe” / I’m happy. This kind of happiness is a result of having things set to where you prefer them to be.

👉 𝐄𝐮𝐝𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐜 𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 is based on something harder to define- it’s not as easy to understand why it’s felt because it’s a feeling that comes from within, and may be based on simple things like “I am happy because I am breathing.”

Hedonic happiness is based in the nervous system- which is designed to scan for differences in environment from moment-to-moment. This type of happiness is constantly changing as the nervous system regulates itself into new levels of “normal”.

Author of “𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀” Sean Webb makes it clear that because Hedonic Happiness does not last, we can learn to manage our long-term well-being by spending time developing Eudaimonic Happiness through finding our deeper purpose, and changing our “blueprint” for what makes us happy.

Some philosophers throughout history have believed that the ultimate goal in life should be to maximize mental and bodily pleasures (hedonic), while thought-leaders like Plato and Marcus Aurelius, and Maslow’s Hierarchy theory place more value on self-actualization to flourish (eudaimonic).

But most researchers agree that both types of happiness are necessary: Hedonic Happiness helps regulate emotions, lower negative thinking, and reduces stress, and Eudaimonic Happiness leads to greater meaning of life, expands our sense of virtue, and enhances our experience of being alive.

🤔 What’s one way you can increase both types of happiness in your life this week?

Today’s tip for making your workouts fun (and getting motivation UP!) :
𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐂! 🎼

Music that is motivational or synchronized with your exercise is shown to have 𝙥𝙝𝙮𝙨𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙨𝙮𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙜𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙚𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙨. When a song has a strong, steady beat, for example, you can pedal or run to the beat of that music, which tends to feel satisfying and may inspire you to exercise more. 🎧 The lyrics or catchy rhythm of motivational music inspires you to exercise longer or work harder during your exercise routine.

📻 If your gym has its own playlists, consider requesting a song, or creating your own playlist for when you are driving to the gym!

Do you ever day-dream about being alone on a deserted island? Or having uninterrupted time to yourself? 💭
Studies prove that alone-time is actually quite good for our brains, creativity, productivity, and increases self-awareness. 📝

𝗧𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀:
◾️ Set aside a few minutes each day to be alone with your thoughts — just 10 minutes a day can help. Silence your electronics and allow yourself to think for a few minutes.

𝗧𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻:
◾️ Turn off your phone and/or watch notifications before you start your workout each day.

💬 See if this helps you enjoy your workout time, and if your mind feels more relaxed!

PSA: 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝘆𝗱𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘄! 💦

We know YOU KNOW how important it is to hydrate during and after a workout, but that habit should carry over into off-days as well!

💦 Water acts as a lubricant for muscles and joints, so it helps you avoid muscle cramps and soreness. And in summer months, why not hydrate with the help of watermelon, strawberries and cantaloupe?

Stay hydrated, folks! 😁

Rock-hard abs are cool, but what’s even cooler is the Transverse Abdominis which lies low-key and stealthy right below them. It makes up the deepest layer of your abdominal muscles.

Your 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐀𝐛𝐝𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬 (TVA for short) plays a big role in squatting heavy, deadlifting, and ultimately moving heavy weight!
It’s better to do movements that don’t isolate the TVA, but rather train it to work in conjunction with the rest of your abdominal muscles.

The 🅳🅴🅰🅳 🅱🆄🅶 movement is a powerful bodyweight exercise for transverse abdominis strengthening and activation.
It should always be done slowly, and with control.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼 𝗮 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗯𝘂𝗴:

1️⃣ Lie flat on your back with your knees bent, engaging your core so that your back lies flat.
2️⃣ Extend your arms toward the ceiling and lift your feet off the ground, keeping your knees bent.
3️⃣ Your arms and upper legs should be perpendicular to the floor. Your shins should be parallel to the floor. This is the starting position.
4️⃣ Keeping a flat back, extend your right arm and left leg toward the floor, slowly unbending your leg.
5️⃣ Pause at the end of your range of motion, slightly above the floor, with your arm and leg fully extended.
6️⃣ Keep your lower back connected to the floor at all times!
7️⃣ Reverse the movement until you reach the starting position.
8️⃣ Repeat with the left arm and right leg.
That’s one rep!

👁‍🗨 There’s more TVA info coming so keep an eye out!
It’s time to give your TVA as much attention as those abs!

𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 is a subjective thing based on an individual’s culture, values, and personality.
But we can all agree that happiness is a 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 emotional state that we want to be in.

Researches show that one way to measure happiness is based on a 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧’𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟-𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. That is, their:
🔹 Autonomy
🔹 Personal growth
🔹 Purpose in life
🔹 Self-acceptance
🔹 Self-mastery
🔹 Positive connections to others

So here’s some food for thought: 🤔
If you had to rank your happiness in each category between 1-10 (10 meaning “very happy/good/strong), what score would you give each?

👉 For your lowest score, what’s one action you could take to positively influence your self-assessment?