Eat Healthy and Exercise...For Your Kids!

If you needed anymore reason to consider your health, a recent study from UC Riverside found, “exercise and a healthy diet in childhood leads to adults with bigger brains and lower levels of anxiety, according to new research.”

The study goes on to talk about how leptin levels are negatively affected by decreasing exercise and switching to high fat and sugar diets. You may be asking, what is leptin? Leptin is a hormone produced by fat cells that signal the hypothalamus (brain) helps control body weight by increasing energy expenditure and signaling that less food is required. According to the study, early-life exercise increased adult leptin levels as well as fat mass in adult mice, regardless of the diet they ate.

Do yourself (and your kids a favor) and eat better and move every day!

Need to make a change in your diet and exercise? I’m here to help! Click the link below to get started today!

Light Dumbbell Workout!

Welcome back!

Are you looking for a quick 20 minute workout but all you have on hand is a light set of dumbbells? Not to worry, I’ve got you covered. Grab your mat, your dumbbells, and get ready for an awesome total body workout!

If you are looking for more great personalized workouts, Floch Fitness offers individualized training programs tailored to your goals, equipment, and skill level. Click below to get started today!

What Is The Influence of Exercise On Hunger?

Have you ever wondered whether or not exercise is actually making you more hungry? Well it turns out that exercising just might make you more likely to eat and overeat after working out. In a recent study published by the Technical University of Munich (in conjunction with the University of Nebraska, the researchers found, “…results suggest that physical exertion can entice those who do sport to eat larger amounts of food more quickly after the training session,” says Prof. Köhler.

This is a good start to a conversation that Scott Hagnas and I had this week on the Fitness, Wellness, and Longevity Podcast (listen below). Hear our thoughts on whether or not the fitness population need worry about eating after your workouts!

If you have a question you’d like us to answer on the next podcast, please email me at sean@flochfitness.com!

Anterior Hip Pain Explained...

A common complaint I get from new clients is anterior hip pain (most of the time on the left side). Let’s take a moment to talk one of the common causes of hip and how to fix it. Note: if you are experiencing severe pain that last for over 2 weeks, consult a licensed healthcare practitioner to rule out any structural damage.

The most common cause of anterior hip pain that I see (that wasn’t caused by a traumatic injury ie. motor vehicle accident or fall) is from asymmetry gone awry. Our bodies are naturally asymmetrical. We have a heart biased to one side, a liver on the other, and our diaphragm is segmented into the left and right. The left diaphragm, due to its flatter structure and the heart that rests atop, is prone to being in a more inhaled position. Whereas the right diaphragm, with a more domed shape and supported by the liver, has an easier time exhaled position. Problems arise when we are unable to fully exhale on the left ribcage and get fully inhaled on the right ribcage. Because the pelvis follows the influence of the ribcage, we see that when the left ribcage is hyperinflated and tipped back, the left hip will tip forward to compensate (we can go into the intricacies of exactly why that is in a future post). The tipping forward of the pelvis cause the acetabulum (the cup of the pelvic) to face down and to the side while the femur is shifted forward instead of sitting back into the hip. Once the pelvis is out of position, the femur during hip flexion (leg moving toward the head) runs into a problem when we enter ranges around 90 degrees. There is no more room in the hip, so the femur must drive against the acetabulum (cup) and divert in or out (moving out in most of the clients I see). If you perform any movements with hip flexion repetitively, this will aggravate the soft tissues that surround the hip capsule (labrum, psoas, TFL, etc.). A common sign of this hip impingement is when you pull the knee toward your chest, you get a pinching sensation. Now before you panic and think you need surgery, I have found great success with clients working on simple breathing and position exercise to address the underlying problems:

1. Asymmetrical Breathing Patterns Gone Too Far

2. Posterior Structures Of The Hip No Longer Yielding

Now that we know why our hip is hurting, it’s time to address how to fix it. In this case, I will talk about left anterior hip pain. The goal of any exercises address the hip pain will need to activate left abs, left adductor, and left glute max while turning off left posterior capsule, left glute med, and right adductor. This is just a fancy way of saying, “You need to be able to stand over your left leg.” Now I know this sounds simple, but it is actually really challenging. Let’s do a test. Stand in front of a mirror so you can see your entire body. Now, shift your weight to the left and support yourself with your left leg (both feet are still on the ground). Take a look at the angle your spine creates from side to side. Is that angle pointed more toward the left or the right? How about the zipper of your shorts/pants? Is that over the left or right leg? If you answer right to either of these questions, you are actually on your left leg, but trying to get back to your right. Your left side has not yielded, and is instead stuck in driving back to the right mode. It’s the same reason you will see runners stuck in a leaning position as you see them go by. They have a wheel out of alignment and there is no stopping it!

Luckily for you, I have a simple exercise that will help you feel both left abs and let go of that left posterior capsule: 90/90 Hip Lift with Left hip shift and Right Hand Reach:

Watch here as I explain exactly how this is done. Give it a try for 2 sets of 5 breaths and then retest the standing over the left leg.

Need some more help with hip pain? Feel free to reach out! I work both remotely and in person.

Radical Longevity With Ann Louise Gittleman

Last week, I got to sit down and talk with best selling author and health expert Ann Louise Gittleman.

As one of the world’s foremost experts in functional and integrative medicine, Ann Louise holds an M.S. in Nutrition Education from Columbia University, has the title of Certified Nutrition Specialist (C.N.S.) from the American College of Nutrition and a Ph.D. in Holistic Nutrition. She has also served as the Chief Nutritionist of Pediatric Clinic at Bellevue Hospital and is the former Director of Nutrition at the Pritikin Longevity Center in Santa Monica, CA. She has won numerous awards, including The American Medical Writers Association Award for Excellence.

Over the years, Ann Louise has been a regular health contributor on several television shows and networks, including 20/20, Dr. Phil, The View, Good Morning America, Extra, FitTV and The Early Show. In addition, her work has been featured on ABC, CNN, PBS, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, CBN, Fox News and the BBC.

In this episode we cover some great topics from her new book Radical Longevity (release date May 11, 2021 and available now for pre-order). We talk about:

-considerations for the male aging athlete

-how to deal with pre and peri-menopause

-post partum weight loss

-heavy metal toxicity

-what longevity really means

and so much more!

Thank you again to Ann Louise for coming onto the podcast! Thank you so much for listening and if you like today's podcast please subscribe, rate, review and share with your friends!

How to Stay Fit After 70...

Longevity is one of the factors I am constantly thinking of when creating training programs and workouts for the clients that I work with. Charlie Kenney is a beautiful example of what the right mindset combined with simple and effective training protocols can do. In his early 70s, Charlie is able to play golf regularly, be productive at work, and enjoy pain free living. Though Charlie started an exercise routine later on, his story shows that it’s never too late to get in the best shape of your life!

If you are ready to make the leap like Charlie did, I’m here to help! I offer at home, remote, and virtual personal training options. Click the link below to get started today!

How to Train Your Hamstrings...

When working with clients, I commonly hear that their hamstrings are “tight.” But are the muscles that make up the hamstrings really tight? Most likely not. When there is restriction in ranges of motion, it is rarely caused by the actual length of the muscle and most of the time caused by the position of the joints relative to the muscle. Imagine I took a garden hose and stretch it out, attaching it to a post on either side. If I take one post and bring it farther back, the tension on the hose will be higher, but the actual length of the hose does not change. That’s what happens with your “tight” hamstrings.

The hamstring attaches to the bottom of your pelvis. When the hip flexors are active due to a compensatory breathing pattern, the pelvis will rotate forward. When the pelvis rotates forward this tensions the hamstrings (see picture above).

Now that we know how the hamstrings get out of position, how do you get the hamstrings back into the correct position so that you can train them? In the video, I run you through a simple exercise to reposition the pelvis in order to train them more affectively. Sometimes you have to turn them down before you can turn them up!

If you have tight hamstrings, I’m here to help! Click the link below to get started today!

Should You Be Meditating?

There are many benefits to meditation including:

1. Lowering Stress

2. Connecting to yourself and others better

3. Understanding your pain

4. Reducing mental noise

5. Improving Focus

Personally, I have a hard time being present, especially when I have a lot on my plate. I get easily distracted by work, my phone, the tv; it never ends. Spending time listening to silence in a quiet room allows me to become aware of all the mental chatter that’s going on. From there, I am able to deidentify with the chatter and give the thoughts and feelings space to pass.

If you experience repetitive thoughts or feelings that crop up during the day, meditation may be a great tool for you. Here is my meditation for beginners:

1. Find a quiet space in your home or outside: Make sure you feel safe and it isn’t foreign. Sitting with your eyes closed in a space that isn’t familiar will cause a natural anxiety/nervousness to occur.

2. Set a timer: Use your watch or phone to set a timer. Then put your phone on airplane mode (ensure that the ringer will go off when the timer is up).

3. Sit in comfortable position: Opposed to popular belief, you do not need to sit with your legs crossed to meditate. You can sit as comfortable as you’d like, but you have to avoid a position that will easily allow you to fall asleep (coincidentally, using meditative practices while lying down can help you fall asleep). I sit in my desk chair with my feet flat on the floor, or propped up.

4. Relax: Notice any tension that you are carrying and let go like you would a closed fist. Continue to scan your body and let go of tension in the brow, jaw, neck, shoulders, chest, arms, hands, back, hips, knees, calves, and feet.

5. Don’t Get Up: That’s it. Just don’t get up. There are MANY different meditative practices (breathing, mindfulness, transcendental) but for me, I just let go and enjoy the show and try to do nothing. I know that sounds simple as you are sitting in a chair in a dark room in silence, but trust me, there is plenty for your mind to do while you are sitting still. Worrying about tomorrow, singing songs, replaying passed events. Trust me, there is plenty your mind wants to do to keep you from being in the present moment. My only objective in meditation is to create space and become the observer of the “show.” The less I do, and the more I become the observer of all the thoughts, feeling, stories, and emotions, the more I deidentify and remind myself of what I REALLY am.

When I first started meditating six years ago, five minutes was about all I could muster. But that was a huge benefit at the time and led me to the next step. And then the next step. Yesterday, I sat in silence for two consecutive hours (It was horrible, not for me, but my ego). I plan on completing two hours of meditating for the next 90 days. I hope you join me in this challenge in whatever way you see fit. If you are new to meditating, go with 5 minutes. If you have been meditating for a while, challenge yourself.

My last tip is this: just because it doesn’t “feel good” to meditate, doesn’t mean that it isn’t working or it’s not right for you. It may be that there is a part of your mind that is not ok with being still, or being seen. Or maybe you aren’t ok with not doing anything. Regardless, give meditation a try and see your world fall into place in the most peculiar ways.