As we enter "back to school" season, where within the first few weeks it seems like every child gets sick (and then brings it home to the rest of the house), it's important that we do what we can to boost our immune system. Yes, vitamins, sleep, and getting certain nutrients is super important for immune health, but did you know that MOVEMENT is essential as well? 

You mean, exercise is important for things other than weight loss?! 

If you've been with me long enough, you know that the benefits of exercise are so great, and most have nothing to do with our weight! One, sometimes forgotten, benefit of movement/exercise, is its relationship to our lymphatic system, and the resulting impact on our immune health. 

Your lymphatic system is a part of the body's defense against disease and plays a role in immune health. It filters waste products (like toxins and pathogens) out of our body, preventing the buildup of harmful substances in the body. Now, unlike the circulatory...

I just wanted to share a random thought I had while I was out for a jog the other day (I get my best ideas and thoughts while I'm exercising, even if they are sometimes super random!) 

So, how is fartlek running like intuitive eating? Simply put, both techniques are all about how your body feels. With fartlek, you run faster when you FEEL like running faster, and go slower when you FEEL like going slower. With intuitive eating, you eat what feels good in your body at that time. If your body is telling you it needs to eat a salad, then eat the salad. If it's telling you that a cookie is the loving choice in that moment, then eat the cookie! 

In both instances, it's about honoring what your body is requesting, and not relying on an external program, like an interval timer for running, or a diet in eating. Interval timers that tell you "go faster for 1 minute, then slower for 2 minutes" mean that you are gauging your intensity based on the timer, not your body. (not to say...

Ever wonder why you can be working out so hard on a bicycle, feeling like you're giving it everything you've got, but your heart rate simply doesn't reflect that? There are a few reasons why this can be happening.

1: Gravity.  Simply put, your heart doesn't have to pump against gravity when you're biking as much as it would if you were running (standing). The bicycle is doing a good job at holding up your body weight, so your body doesn't have to do as much work.

2: The training response.  Unless your legs are trained to cycle, the leg muscles fatigue before your heart rate can get up higher.  It's a classic example of "you're only as strong as your weakest link." 

So, if you're doing an assessment for your heart/cardiovascular health using a bicycle, but you rarely train on one, just know that there will be limitations to that test. 

Here is a picture graph of the workout I describe in the video. 5 minutes elliptical vs. 5 minutes bicycle, repeated...

In this highly "interrupted by a 3 year old" video, I am going to share a bunch of tips to think of when it comes to shin splints.  What causes them, and how to reduce them! 

Potential Causes:

• flat feet
• worn out shoes
• running surface (too hard like concrete, or too soft like grass)
• "too much too soon" overuse. Beginners are more at risk.
• Not using "floppy ankles" 
• Pushing off toes and landing on heels
• Slow stride vs. "quick feet"

Potential Fixes:

• Take my 5 Weeks to 5k Running Clinic, of course! We go over all of the form and technique of proper foot placement and stride in lessons 1 and 2! (and you can take lesson 1 for free on the website!)
• Massage the shin AND calf muscles.
• Ice
• Rest. You may need to scale back your mileage or running until they go away. You did too much, too soon! Or begin practicing floppy ankles and see if they reduce.

We are evolutionarily designed to nose breath. The nose is the start of the respiratory system.  The mouth was evolutionarily designed to begin the digestion process, not the respiratory process. Mouth breathing is essentially an "emergency state" that we have come to live in.

Nose breathing releases nitric oxide in the body, which increases the CO2 levels in the blood. The level of CO2 in the blood then regulates the release of O2 into the cells to maintain the balance. Mouth breathing does not release nitric oxide, and thus, less oxygen gets released into the cells (leading to all sorts of symptoms such as fatigue, anxiety, depression, digestive issues, immune issues, etc.)

Mouth breathing, especially while asleep, plays a HUGE role in dental health.  Tooth decay and cavities are a big sign of mouth breathing because  when the mouth is dehydrated (ie: you wake up with a dry mouth), there is little saliva in the mouth. Saliva plays a key role in maintaining a healthy...

Are you finding that you start out strong with a goal, but then fall off the wagon because you're not consistently working toward that goal? Listen in as I share 10 tips to increase and improve your consistency problems in any goal or habit that you want to implement into your routine.

1. Ask yourself: Do you really want what IT is? (do you want it for you, or is it something that you think someone else wants for you?) If yes? continue on. If no: Pick a new goal, because this one will not work.
2. Can you picture You 2.0 doing this habit consistently? If yes: keep doing it and picturing the future you doing this habit. If no: Not going to happen, pick a new goal that you can picture the future you doing. (The You 2.0 thought is a great technique I learned from Manifestation Teacher, Tara Brunet.  I am a part of her membership, and am always learning better ways to manifest the things I want into my life via her talks, podcasts, and workshops! Highly recommend!)
3. What doubts do you...

In this video, I am going to share my advice on how many days of the week you should exercise. Note: every body is different.  Some bodies require more, and some require less.  You'll also hear folks say you only need to exercise 1x per week and others say you have to exercise every day. And guess what? There's also research to back up each of those statements. Below I'll share my balanced approach to determining the amount of exercise most folks would benefit from.

Here are my 4 stages of "how many days of exercise should I do."

Stage 1: Just move your body every day. If you can, walk, ride a bike, swim, dance, yoga, active play, etc. for 30 minutes every day. This can be something like "walk to the grocery store" instead of drive.  Just move.

Stage 2: Once you're moving your body daily, take 2 of those days and incorporate some sort of strength training. This doesn't have to scare you. It can literally be 10 minutes of strength training.  Just add in 10-30...

No matter what's going on in life, or how you feel on the inside, there is nothing stopping you from visualizing (or daydreaming). 

This visualization that I want to share with you is one that I practice often when I'm out for a run (but you can do it anytime, or for any type of workout).  

Start by picturing that perfect runner. Picture what they look like. What they are wearing. What they are feeling. What they are thinking. What they are listening to, etc. Go through as many of the details as you can. (Again, I'm using running as the example, but you can picture anything).  

When you're running, and feeling "off," or simply not energized, dragging, or dreading it, I want you to "step inside" that visualization of the perfect runner.  Imagine that that person IS you.  YOU are running as if you are the perfect vision. 

When you do that, take notice of how your posture changes. Does your running go from feeling like a struggle, to a little...

If you're like me, and running is your cardio exercise of choice, you may find that your legs become a little imbalanced. (Running is a very linear-forward/backward movement).  The three exercise movements I am going to show you here help to build strength and balance for lateral movements (side to side movements that don't happen much in running). 

Watch my instruction below, and give the three exercises a try! You can simply do 1 round of each (10 repetitions of each), or you can repeat the circuit of all 3 for as many rounds as you'd like (or for as much time as you'd like!)

Exercise 1: Side Lunge Sit Slides
Exercise 2: Side Lunge to Balance
Exercise 3: Plie Pulse to Squeeze

When your destination seems so out of reach and unattainable, the only way to get there is to "trust the trail" and keep making forward progress, even if it's one slow step at a time.