Posts tagged exercise
BREATHING & MINDFUL FITNESS
BREATHING & MINDFUL FITNESS

Incorporating mindfulness into exercise and daily movement also involves the practice of breathing. The fact is most people don’t breathe very well. Each inhale should involve the expansion of your abdomen and rib cage in four directions: front, back, and laterally left and right. Try to inhale without raising your shoulders and exhale all the air out of your lungs before your next, slow inhale. Breathing with intention and attention grounds you in the present moment and enhances your physical experience. This mindful breathing not only fuels your movement but also cultivates a calm and focus that extends beyond the gym.

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Smart Exercise, Emotional HealthJohn Holleybreathing, mindfulness, exercise, weight loss
FITNESS THROUGH THE AGES
FITNESS THROUGH THE AGES

My dad lived 81 very active years. Carpentry was his profession and he also spent his nights and weekends remodeling the homes we lived in when I was a boy. Later in life, the 14 acres he owned in East Tennessee required year-round maintenance and he took pride in doing it himself. His daily movement was the key to his good health. Despite the fact he ate too much of my mom’s cooking, an active lifestyle protected him from many of the ravages of time.

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Smart Exercise, Mindful Eating, Emotional HealthJohn HolleyAnti aging, fitness, exercise, clean eating
BENEFITS OF AGELESS FITNESS
BENEFITS OF AGELESS FITNESS

If you’re new to resistance training, it may take a few weeks to notice more muscle, but the results are most apparent within the first few months of training. Think of it like driving a car: if you accelerate from 0 to 60 (untrained to fit), it feels more dramatic than going from 60 to 75. Don’t worry, muscular changes after months and years of consistent training are still occurring.

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Smart ExerciseJohn Holleyfitness, workouts, Anti aging, exercise
NEW RULES OF FITNESS
NEW RULES OF FITNESS

Why do you workout? If you’re like most of us, at least part of the reason is to look better…maybe like an athlete. Yet, all of the crunches, curls and calf raises in the world won’t give you anything more than greater strength in your abs, biceps and calves. When it comes to real fitness, single-joint, bodybuilding exercises are passe’. Athletic (read functional) conditioning is what’s now.

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Smart ExerciseJohn Holleyfitness, exercise, weight loss, workouts
LET'S GO OLD SCHOOL THIS SUMMER
LET'S GO OLD SCHOOL THIS SUMMER

Technology is a wonderful servant, but a horrible master. Until the robot overlords compel us to serve them, step out of your comfort zone and walk around the block, hike in the woods or have dinner on the patio without your phone by your side. Your social media accounts are not going anywhere and you may find some of the joy and peace you remember from summers past.

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Emotional Health, Mindful Eating, Smart ExerciseJohn Holleyfitness, exercise, weight loss, mental health
LET'S GET REAL
LET'S GET REAL

You may be aware the first step to change is the decision to change. The second step is to make a realistic plan and the final step is to take action. What follows are the steps people just like you have taken to lose weight and look and feel better than ever. Maybe you’ve incorporated several of these habits into your life and are already reaping the benefits. Maybe you need to get on track and start at number one. In either case, let’s get to work!

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Smart ExerciseJohn Holleyworkouts, exercise, weight loss, motivation
Guest Post: Tips for Boosting Confidence While Entering the Post-Lockdown World
Guest Post: Tips for Boosting Confidence While Entering the Post-Lockdown World

For many, social anxieties are part of the mix of emotions leading to this stress. If you’ve been locked down and working from home all the time, odds are it’s been a while since you regularly interacted with people outside of your household. Justin Bennett of HealthyFit.info has created this guide to help you figure out tools you can use to boost your confidence and get back out there.

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Emotional Health, Smart Exercise, Mindful EatingJohn Holleyfinancial health, wellness, weight loss, exercise, mental health
GOT SQUATS?
GOT SQUATS?

If you had to get down in a squat right now without holding onto a chair or bending at the waist excessively, could you? I’m not talking about going to the gym and squatting with a bar on your back. I mean, can you squat down to pick up your phone from the floor without bending at the waist or hurting your feet, knees, hips or back?

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Smart ExerciseJohn Holleysquats, exercise, fitness
STAND UP STRAIGHT
STAND UP STRAIGHT

In Sesame Street terms, “C is for chronic (back pain) or compression (of the spine). I know that’s not catchy, but poor posture may contribute to low back pain, in part because of the disc compression in the spine. Another factor is the weakening of our best friend, the gluteus maximus and a shortening of the hamstrings. In short, if you sit on your butt all day, it will be inactive and weak. The hamstrings shorten after long periods of time in a seated position and have to over-compensate for weak glutes (they extend the hips), which adds to their tightness. Some studies suggest tight hamstrings contribute to 80 percent of all low back pain.

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Smart ExerciseJohn Holleyposture, exercise, fitness, back pain
BUILD CONSISTENCY FIRST
BUILD CONSISTENCY FIRST

It’s simple, people who make the goal to exercise twice a week are much more likely to achieve their goal than those who seek the “perfect” record of working out every day. This is not to suggest you can’t exercise every day, but if you haven’t seen the inside of a gym for a while, maybe you should be honest with yourself.

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Smart ExerciseJohn Holleyexercise, weight loss, habits