FitWorks Burbank

Make your workouts more fun by 𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬, rather than the outcome. 🔎

When you start focusing your attention and energy less on the results but rather on the techniques involved, improving movement, enjoying the class-time, and learning about your body and self in relation to your workouts, you discover that you learn faster, and help you to be more consistent. 👊

📢 Focusing on process goals is empowering because HOW you show up is entirely within your control!

Do you ever get into a mode where you feel frustrated by your progress (or perceived lack of) in your workouts, or at work, as a parent or student? 😖

Oftentimes this frustration is coming from not acknowledging, noticing, or remembering what actually IS going well and how you HAVE progressed.

𝘓𝘦𝘵’𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘵- 𝘸𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘴𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘨𝘰𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭-𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺.
🌪This month, before you rush off to tackle your next win, set some time aside for yourself to celebrate victories, big and small.

𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳-𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝘆 𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀:

◾️ At the end of each day, write 1-3 small accomplishments or wins. 📝
◾️ Next time you have a good workout, take a moment to yourself before you leave the gym and feel good about the class.
◾️ Think back to where you were (in any area of your life) 1, 3, or 5 years ago- and see how far you have come.
◾️ Next time you Level-up, finish a project, give a presentation, or just showed a lot of patience one day, give yourself a reward that feels good to you.
◾️ Set a 2 minute timer each day to give gratitude… to yourself!!
◾️ The same as you would pay a compliment to someone else, Say out-loud that you’ve accomplished great things today. Even something simple like “Wow, I did a great job!” is enough to help affirm your own achievements.

This is the psychology of achievement; successfully completing one task triggers a feeling of happiness in your brain (dopamine release), and motivates you to continue.

𝘽𝙤𝙩𝙩𝙤𝙢 𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚- 𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙨- 𝙗𝙞𝙜 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙢𝙖𝙡𝙡. 🎉

Rest day is the perfect opportunity to take advantage of 𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗼𝘂𝘁𝘀 such as yoga or Pilates. 🧘
Or simply take a walk! 🚶🏼
The idea is to take a break from the harder gym workouts,
yet keep your body moving so blood and lymph fluid flow to aid in recovery.🩸😌

👉 Aim for 30-45 minutes of light recovery exercise on rest day.

💻 Youtube has plenty of options for Yoga or pilates, or you can jump on a rebounder or take a walk to your favorite playlist!

General strengthening for the midsection and even walking can strengthen TVA.

“𝘙𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘣 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘤𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮” - Paul Hodges

🅵🅾🆁🅴🅰🆁🅼 🅿🅻🅰🅽🅺🆂 definitely activate your TVA!
But remember- proper form is essential!

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗸:
1️⃣ Rest your forearms on the ground, with your shoulders stacked over your elbows and away from your ears.
2️⃣ Extend your legs behind you with feet together and toes in an athletic position.
3️⃣ Push yourself up so that your body is in a straight line from head to toe, with your core engaged. Practice that bracing exercise!
4️⃣ Hold the position, keeping your eyes facing the floor to maintain a neutral spine. Focus on squeezing your glutes inward, pushing your hips slightly forward.
5️⃣ Hold until your form starts to fail.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸, 𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗻 𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀.

Use a camera 📷 or have someone experienced watch you to determine if you need to correct your posture!

👁‍🗨 We hope you liked these posts on how to give the “underdog” of the abs a shout-out!

Every emotional reaction and thought we may have comes down to 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀:

1️⃣ -our expectation or preference associated with our sense of self (we are hard-wired to protect our body in a practical way, and our emotions and thoughts also contribute to a sense of self)
2️⃣ -our perception (the things around us that we take in through our senses)

But your minds and reactions are not entirely who or what you are.
“𝐌𝐞𝐭𝐚-𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬” disciplines are ways to observe your mind, and redirect your mind into an activity that you choose.

🤔 What the heck do we mean by “meta-awareness disciplines”?! - Activities like self-reflection (journaling, ending your day with reflection prompts), learning about how your mind works (like reading “𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀"), and self-observation (meditation, for example) can help us change our understanding of “self”. Doing those activities daily or regularly is a discipline to increase self-awareness and clarity in life. 🤸🏻

The point is: when we see that the reaction of the mind as simply an option, we feel liberated and more in control of our happiness.

👉 Check out Sean Webb’s book for more info!

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?