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by Nathan Corn on Mar 16 2016
If It Fits Your Macros, or IIFYM as the “fitness crowd” calls it is relatively new as a meme, formerly known as “flexible dieting” but the dietary principles have actually been around for quite some time in the fitness world.
IIFYM, or flexible dieting, is a method of dieting that revolves around meeting daily macro nutritional intake targets, and not on what you eat to get there. It’s essentially a form of calorie counting (a gram of protein and carbohydrate both contain about 4 calories, and a gram of fat contains about 9). Tracking Your Macros
How Many Calories should I eat per day?
How many grams of protein should I consume per day?
How many grams of carbohydrates should I consume per day?
How many grams of fat should I consume per day?
*Need help calculating?! Check on our pasts posts and Keep an eye out for future blogs where we teach you how!
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by Mackenzie Diekmann on Mar 04 2016
A few things to help keep your results coming!
Whether you're a seasoned athlete or you're just getting into fitness, recovery is a necessary component to the whole equation that is often overlooked. Recuperating is an important step in reaching your fitness goals even if it doesn't feel like it. Believe it or not, it is possible to over train. This happens when you don't give your body the time required to repair its muscles, tendons, ligaments, and bones. Overtraining can actually make your workouts more harmful than effective. Here are the 8 laws of rest and recovery to prevent you from becoming the next victim of overtraining: 1. Sleep Sleeping is not only important because no one wants to be around you when you're crabby; it is also the time when your body does the most repairs. Plus, a good night's sleep will keep you from dragging through that next workout. Most adults need anywhere from 7-10 hours of sleep per night. 2. Stretch Stretching will keep you flexible enough to go through the daily motion without hurting yourself as well as keep sore muscles from burning near as much. Try doing ballistic stretching (moving stretches) before your workout and static stretching (hold stretches for extended period of time) after your workout. Don't be afraid to also take a day out of the week and make it your stretch day. 3. Myofacial Release Ever get a deep tissue massage? That was myofacial release and you can do it yourself at home with simple tools like a foam roller. Just find those trigger spots where your muscles have tightened up or formed knots. Then stick the foam roller in that spot and put some weight on it for a little bit. It will hurt so good, but it will also help loosen and repair those muscles.
4. Take a Recovery Week or Two
Before you get all up in arms, taking a recovery week doesn't necessarily mean you have to completely stop working out. It just means you don't go quite as hard. Set a couple days aside for yoga, Pilates, or stretch workouts and then use your remaining days in the week for light cardio or lifting. This will allow your body to play catch up and repair those deep tissue tears that it hasn't had a chance to get to yet. How often you need a recovery week varies from person to person, but if you've noticed your workout performance has started to steadily decline, it's probably a good idea to take a recovery week.
5. Hydrate
Your body needs water for pretty much every process it goes through, including recovery. Why not expedite all of your body's functions by keeping it super hydrated? Not only will this speed up recovery, but it will prevent sore muscles, lower stress levels, and improve skin & hair. An easy way to make sure you are getting enough water intake is to take a look at your urine. If it's clear, you're doing great!
6. Eat Clean
Everything that you put in in your body can either help or hurt it. Alcohol and processed foods will release toxins that can be harmful and put a halt on your progress. Educate yourself on what foods are effective for your body and will help increase your performance. This is where FlexPro's healthy food delivery comes in handy!
7. Posture
The majority of Americans have terrible posture because they sit at a desk all day while slouching. This may seem like the most comfortable position at the time, but it can lead to neck, back, and even knee pain, which will then affect your workout performance. Try being more cognizant of how you are sitting and maybe even try purchasing an ergonomically correct chair if you need the extra help.
8. Compress, Ice, & Heat
Not only are these three techniques effective for nursing an injury, they can also be super effective if you do any sort of extremely stressful training. Wearing compression pants, sleeves, or shirts during your workout will help your muscles stay put and result in less muscle soreness. Taking a hot bath or icing areas that experienced the most brutality during your workout is also very effective in the recovery process.
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by Mackenzie Diekmann on Mar 02 2016
Carbs have caught quite a bad reputation in recent years due to the Adkins Diet and the gluten free craze, but do you really need to throw them out of your diet altogether? It is true that when eaten in excess, or at the wrong times, carbs can be your enemy. But, if used correctly, carbs can be one of your top allies! Carbohydrates are your body's go-to source for fueling workouts and giving you enough energy to get through your day. Without them you will become pretty fatigued early on in the day. That's no good! So How Many Carbs Do You Need? This all depends on your goals and your activity level. A person who is pretty sedentary is not going to need the same amount of carbs as some one who is an avid runner or weight lifter. The chart below will give you a good range of how many carbs you should be shooting for each day:
Goals/Activity Level
Carbs
Weight Loss
0.9-1.25 g per pound of bodyweight
Active People
1-3 per pound of bodyweight
Sedentary
50-150 g of carbs per day
When to Eat Carbs: The timing of your carbs is also something to take into consideration. Most nutrition experts recommend eating the majority of your carbs early in the day (breakfast) and as a part of your post-workout meal or shake. This will ensure that the carbs you intake are converted to energy instead of fat. What Carbs to Eat Not all carbohydrates are created equal! When choosing which carbs should be a part of your diet, be sure to stay away from food that is high in sugar and opt for whole wheat/grain options. Foods like brown rice, quinoa, couscous, sweet potatoes, red potatoes, whole grain pasta, and whole grain breads are pretty good choices.
There are so many healthy options, you're sure to find one that you love!
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How Much Protein Should You Be Eating?
by Mackenzie Diekmann on Feb 23 2016
Find out how to calculate the right amount of protein for you!
Figuring out how much protein you should be eating can be super confusing for a lot of people with all of the conflicting information out there. So what's the right amount for you? The answer is-- it depends! Huge factors that figure into how much protein you should be consuming is your lifestyle and fitness goals, so not everyone will be the same. For instance, a professional bodybuilder would definitely not be taking in the same amount of protein as the average Joe who lives a sedentary lifestyle. Here is a chart that shows the suggested daily intake of protein according to your fitness goals/lifestyle:
Goals/Lifestyle
Daily Protein Intake
Muscle Building/Getting Toned
1-1.5g Protein/Pound of Current Body Weight
Weight Loss
1g Protein/Pound of Target Body Weight
Average Healthy Sedentary Person
.36g Protein/Pound of Current Body Weight
Examples:
A 180 lb guy looking to add some muscle would take in anywhere from 180-270 grams of protein per day.
A 200 lb woman wanting to lose 30 lbs should take in about 170 grams of protein/day.
How to fit all of your protein into your diet:
Once you've calculated what your daily protein intake should be, you might be thinking, "That's A LOT of protein! How am I going to get all of that in?"
Don't worry-- it's possible! The easiest way to fit all of your protein in is to divide it up into 5-6 meals per day. For instance, someone who needed 200 grams of protein a day might eat 6 meals a day with around 33 grams of protein/meal. Protein bars and proteins provide a great way to help you supplement protein into your diet without having to take the time to cook a piece of meat 5-6 times/day. Just be careful to keep an eye on their nutrition labels. Lots of shakes and bars boast that they are healthy, but harbor a crazy amount of added sugar that you probably don't need!
What ways do you add the needed amount of protein to your diet? Let us know in the comments below!
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by Mackenzie Diekmann on Feb 11 2016
For decades, fat has been a dirty word when it comes to talking about a healthy diet. When people are trying to lose weight, fat is usually the first thing to be cut, hence the "Low Fat" revolution that began almost 20 years ago. While it is true there are fats that will make you, well... fat, there are also good fats that greatly benefit your body. Here are a few benefits of healthy fats:
Great source of energy
Helps the body to absorb vitamins and nutrients
Essential for blood clotting
Essential for muscle movement
Helps inflammation
Prevents & treats heart disease
Reduces cholesterol
Lowers blood pressure
Helps prevent belly fat
Boosts brain function
May reduce risk of dementia
Types of Fats: The Bad Trans Fat- Also known has "partially hydrogenated oil", trans fat has, up until recently, been found in everything from cookies to fast food. Studies have shown that trans fat has zero health benefits and is linked to multiple chronic conditions including high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes and stroke. For this reason, the FDA has required the food industry to list trans fat out on a separate line in the nutrition info on packaging, resulting in many food companies expelling trans fat from their food altogether. Saturated Fats- This type of fat is commonly found in whole milk, red meat, cheese, coconut oil, baked goods, and more. While our bodies do require us to have some saturated fat, the balance can be easily tipped in favor of quickly becoming too much. Most nutrition experts recommend that saturated fat make up no more than 10% of our daily calories because it has been linked to raising harmful cholesterol and forming artery blockages.
The Good: Monounsaturated Fats- Peanut oil, avocados, sunflower oil, olive oil, canola oil, and nuts are foods that are abundant in monounsaturated fat. This type of fat has been linked to many heart healthy benefits, so much so, that nutrition experts recommend replacing trans and saturated fats with monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Polyunsaturated Fats- This type of fat is known as an essential fat, meaning your body needs it but can't produce it on it's own. You can provide polyunsaturated fat for your body by eating foods rich in omega- 3 fatty acids like salmon, sardines, walnuts, canola oil, flaxseeds, and more. Eating or supplementing omega-3 fatty acids have tons of health benefits including lowering blood pressure, raising good cholesterol, reducing heart problems, helping to relieve arthritis, boosting brain function and possibly even preventing dementia. Swap Good Fats into your Diet Here are a few ways to start implementing good fats into your diet while taking the bad out:
Trade regular bacon for turkey bacon
Opt for real butter over margarine
Add avocados to your salads and other foods like tacos
Make sure your peanut butter and other spreads don't contain hydrogenated oil
Take a fish oil or flax seed supplement daily
Stay away from fast food and processed foods as much as possible
How do you integrate the “good fats” into your healthy diet? Let us know in the comments below!
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Losing Weight vs. Losing Fat - What's the Difference?
by Mackenzie Diekmann on Feb 03 2016
Weight loss and fat loss are two huge buzzwords used in our society today. It seems like everywhere you turn there are products or services promising you weight loss or fat loss. Often, these two terms are used interchangeably even though they don't necessarily mean the same thing. But how are they different? Let's talk about losing weight vs. losing fat and what exactly the difference is! Let's Clear Some Things Up:
Weight Loss: When you lose body weight, which is the sum of your muscle, fat, skin, hair, bones, organs, etc.
Fat Loss: A more specific type of weight loss that occurs when only your body fat decreases.
The Problem with the scale: Most people wanting to lose weight are actually only wanting to lose body fat. When they step on the scale and see their weight fluctuating for other reasons like hormone changes, water retention, muscle gain/loss, etc., they become discouraged and confused when in reality the scale is just not a reliable tool to calculate body fat percentage. Clothes, mirrors, and pictures are all better indicators of fat loss than a scale. A tool that can help you accurately track your fat loss progress is a fat caliper. It's a cheap and easy way to measure your body fat percentage. The table below shows the ideal body fat % for men and women according to The American Council of Exercise (ACE):
Women
Men
Minimum Fat Needed to Live
10-13%
2-5%
Professional Athletes
14-20%
6-13%
Fitness Junkies
21-24%
14-17%
Average
25-31%
18-24%
Overweight
32% and up
25% and up
Train to Lose Fat, Not Muscle! Part of the fat loss equation comes with the time you put in the gym. Many people who want to lose fat quickly do tons and tons of cardio all day, every day. Cardio is great, but like all things, too much of a good thing is not so good. Doing only cardio can result in muscle loss instead of fat loss. Instead a better/smarter way to exercise is to do weight training while adding in some cardio a few days/week. HIIT Training is a great cardio option for you to add into your fitness regime. Click here to lean more about HIIT!! The Bottom Line
When it comes to losing body fat, what you eat is 75% of the battle. Eating junk, eating too much, or even eating too little can hinder any fat loss program no matter how hard you train.
Don't let the scale get you down-- you can still be losing body fat and making progress even if the scale is not moving or going up!
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7 Benefits of Stretching & How to Integrate with Your Fitness Routine
by Mackenzie Diekmann on Dec 11 2015
7 Benefits of Stretching
Stretching has the ability to prevent a lot of problems!
Among the fitness community stretching is often overlooked because the results are not as visible as lifting weights or doing cardio. However, if you've ever been injured or experienced chronic aches and pains, you can probably look back in hindsight and see that stretching would have saved you a bunch of grief. Not only does stretching offer benefits in the way of pain relief, it also has tons of other positive results that can make life a little easier.
Here are 7 reasons why you should incorporate stretching into your fitness regime:
Mood/Mind Booster- Stretching increases blood flow/circulation, sending lots of oxygen to your brain resulting in clearer thinking and better moods.
Butt Saver- If you have a desk job, sitting for that long can cause your glutes to atrophy (lose muscle), which can then lead to other problems like lower back and knee pain. Stretching your glutes and hip flexors regularly can prevent that.
Better Posture- When you consistently stretch, your muscles loosen up, leaving you less likely to assume the hunchback position.
Increases Athletic Performance- If you are an athlete or a fitness nut, stretching can increase your ability to do certain athletic moves.
Slows Aging- As you age, your body begins to lose mobility, resulting in less activity and more health problems. Stretching regularly increases mobility.
Prevents Injury- Stretching makes your muscles more elastic, making you less likely to pull or tear a muscle during activity.
Prevents Muscle Soreness- Consistent stretching will help your muscles recover quicker from tough workouts and prevent them from becoming as sore.
Not only does stretching have a lot of benefits, it's incredibly easy to integrate into your daily fitness routine. A good stretch requires no special equipment and can be done practically anywhere! Using your body weight you can gently stretch to help maximize your desired fitness results! Tell us your favorite stretch in the comments below!
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How Long Should I Workout? Find Out With FlexPro!
by Mackenzie Diekmann on Dec 10 2015
The plain and simple answer to this question is: there is no answer. There are too many variables that go into how long you should workout to have one definitive answer that holds true for everybody. Some fitness experts will tell you to do 45 minute workouts everyday; no more, no less. This may be the best route to go for some people - but not all people are the same. Therefore, you have to listen to your body and figure out what works best for you with a little trial and error.
Here are some things to consider when trying to figure out the duration of your workout:
Experience Level- Are you a newbie to the world of fitness, a seasoned muscle head, or somewhere in between? If your body isn’t accustomed to the punishment getting in shape involves, your workouts should probably be short and to-the-point (anywhere from 20-30 minutes) to begin with. Once you start noticing that you are becoming stronger, you can either start bumping up the length and/or intensity of your workouts.
Fitness Goals- The types of workouts you do should be directly related to your fitness goals. If you're wanting to gain mass, then you will probably be doing a lot of high volume weight training routines which all vary in length according to how long your breaks are and what muscle group you are targeting that day. If you are training to be more athletic, some of your workouts, like plyometric or HIIT routines, will be shorter due to the high level of intensity.
Intensity- The intensity of your workout is a huge determining factor in how long you should workout. When weight training, some people can go for longer periods of time (1-1.5 hours), especially if they are taking long rests in between sets. In contrast, some CrossFit workouts only last 8 minutes, but they are so intense that you often won't be able to peel yourself off the floor for the rest of the day. The thing to consider here is, did you push your body to the point of extreme fatigue? This is what causes you to change and become stronger. Remember, quality over quantity!
Personal Time Constraints- Some people have crazy, hectic lives that only leave them a small allotment of time to get a workout in. If you're one of those people that only have a tiny window of time to workout, doing a 20-30 minute workout is way better than doing nothing at all. The good news is, studies have shown that short, but intense workouts can burn the same amount of calories as a longer workout due to something called the after burn effect. This means you'll continue to burn calories at an accelerated rate even after you're done working out if the intensity was high enough.
The key thing to remember is what works for someone else may not necessarily work for you. Listen to your body and happy working out!
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Pull-ups - Why We Do Them and You Should Too!
by Mackenzie Diekmann on Dec 10 2015
Pull-ups have long been considered one of the most fundamental exercises in creating a strong back and that ever-coveted V-taper many guys desire. Being able to preform pull-ups is considered by many organizations, like the military, to be an indicator of superior physical fitness. However, pull-ups provide a lot more benefits than just looking good and impressing people. Here are just a few of our favorite benefits: 1. Compound Upper Body Move- Not only do pull-ups target your upper-back muscles, your biceps, forearms, shoulders, & core also come into play when preforming a pull-up. 2. Variation Variety- There are tons of pull-up variations you can do all depending on your hand placement. Each type targets your muscles differently. For instance, a chin-up incorporates more biceps while a close-grip pull-up targets more of your forearms. 3. Increasing Intensity is Easy- As with every other exercise, you must continually increase the intensity in order to grow and avoid a plateau. Pull-up intensity can be easily increased by simply doing more reps or adding weight with a weighted belt or vest. 4. Increased Heart Rate- Pull-ups use large muscle groups, so they will have your heart rate pumping in no time! 5. Increase Grip Strength- Pull-ups are one of the best ways to increase grip strength which comes in handy for other weight-training exercises and climbing. 6. Convenient- Pull-ups can be done almost anywhere. You don't need thousands of dollars worth of gym equipment to do this exercise-- just your body, a bar, and gravity.
Don't Have Access to a Pull-up Bar?
Doorframe pull-up bars are relatively inexpensive and work great!
Check out your local running trail. Many of them have outdoor workout stations that include pull-up bars.
Head to the nearest playground and use the monkey bars.
If you have an open beam ceiling in your basement, use the beam as a pull-up bar
Head outside to your patio and use the edge of the deck or railing
Do you integrate pull-ups in your workout routine? Tell us how in the comments below!
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by Mackenzie Diekmann on Oct 05 2015
Get Ready to Burn More Fat in Half the Time!
If you've been to a gym or opened a fitness magazine lately you've probably have at least heard of the word HIIT, but what the heck does HIIT even mean? HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training, and it has very quickly become one of top trending ways to burn fat. Why? Because if done correctly you can burn up to 9 times the amount of fat than a traditional steady-state cardio workout would!How is it Done?HIIT is done by alternating high intensity exercises with low intensity exercises (or resting) for a set amount of time (20-60 seconds) and can be done with pretty much any bodyweight exercise including running, squatting, lunging, kicking, punching, jump roping, & more! Benefits of HIIT
Metabolism Increase- HIIT will speed up your metabolic rate for up to 48 hours after you've finished working out.
Fast & Convenient- Most HIIT routines are less than 30 minutes and you can literally do it anywhere since little to no equipment is required. Gone are the days of not having time to workout!
No Equipment Required- The only weight you need for HIIT is the weight your own body supplies. Most moves in HIIT routines use bodyweight exercises; although, feel free to add weighted moves to up the intensity.
Burns More Fat While Retaining Muscle- Studies have shown that over a 20 week period, people who consistently did HIIT routines burned 9 times the amount of body fat and retained more lean muscle mass over the people who just did low intensity, steady-state cardio.
Ready to give HIIT a try? Here are few example workouts for you to give a go!10 Minute Beginner HIIT Workout 3 rounds- 20 seconds high intensity, 10 seconds rest
Jumping Jacks
Squats
Jab, Cross (Right Side)
Jab, Cross (Left Side)
*30 seconds of rest in between each round
Advanced HIIT Workout3 Rounds- 45 seconds high intensity, 15 Second Rest
Burbpees
Jumping Lunges
Tricep Dips
Side Lunges
Push-ups
Tuck Jumps
Mountain Climbers
*1 minute of rest in between each round
Have you tried HIIT Before? Let us know your favorite workout in the comments below!