Indulgence is often synonymous with the holiday season. You stuff your face during Thanksgiving and then attend various Christmas parties through the end of December. You may also skip workouts because you are too busy with gift shopping and planning your own holiday bash. The best way to maximize your holiday season fitness is to pay attention to your habits each and every day.
It is no wonder that many people gain weight toward the end of each year. You do not have to fall victim to this pattern, however. Here are nine ways to stay fit during the holidays.
If you’re an exercise enthusiast, it might be hard to wrap your mind around the many benefits of low-impact exercise. Far too many fitness junkies believe that your workout needs to be high-intensity every single time. While there are countless benefits associated with high-intensity exercise, it’s not the only form out there.
Low-impact exercises are especially useful if you’re recovering from a recent injury. They also serve you well when training for a vigorous event. Incorporating low-impact exercises into your workout regimen helps condition your body, repair muscles, and give your body the rest it needs to recover. Want to learn more about some of the best low-impact exercises for overall health and strength? Keep reading!
In the world of competitive sports and fitness, performance enhancing supplements have sparked intense debate about their actual effectiveness. Athletes, bodybuilders, and fitness enthusiasts are constantly seeking ways to gain an edge—whether it’s greater strength, improved endurance, or faster recovery. But do these supplements truly deliver measurable results, or are they simply marketing hype wrapped in scientific jargon?
Let’s take a look at what performance enhancing supplements are, as well as if and how they work, and which ones are best for your goals.
In today’s world, recovering from the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare and well-being are a priority for everyone. There’s been a sharp rise in awareness of our mental health and physical well-being. And therefore, we are doing our best to shift from an unhealthy lifestyle through small but significant steps. Nutrition is a huge part of staying healthy. We can use some of these best juices for health and fitness to add vitamins and minerals to our daily routine. Just be careful not to overdo it due to all of the sugars typically found in fruit and veggie juices.
Surgery, whether minor or major, places significant stress on the body. The healing process that follows requires optimal conditions for tissue repair, infection prevention, and restoration of normal function. While traditional post-surgical care remains essential, an increasing number of medical professionals and patients are discovering the remarkable benefits of hyperbaric chamber therapy, or hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), as a complementary treatment to enhance recovery outcomes.
Here is everything you need to know to inform your own use of hyperbaric chamber therapy for post-surgical and, inherently, post-workout recovery.
Why Plasma Donation Matters: The Lifesaving Impact
The Role of Plasma in Medicine
Plasma, the yellowish liquid component of blood, plays a critical role in the human body and the medical field. Comprising about 55% of total blood volume, plasma contains water, salts, enzymes, antibodies, and various proteins, including clotting factors. Its primary function is to transport nutrients, hormones, and proteins to the parts of the body that need them. In medical settings, a plasma donation stands out as a vital resource used in the treatment of numerous health conditions. Plasma-derived therapies, which include immunoglobulins, clotting factors, and albumin, are essential for patients suffering from conditions such as hemophilia, liver disease, and severe burns.
Moreover, during medical emergencies or major surgeries, such as trauma cases or organ transplants, plasma plays a critical role in maintaining blood volume and pressure. It helps to stabilize patients who have lost significant blood and need immediate intervention. Therefore, plasma donation is not merely a civic duty; it is a crucial contribution to the survival of vulnerable patients and patients undergoing complex medical treatments.
The early 2000s were a momentous era for global awareness in terms of the harmful effects of plastic on human health, as well as how low testosterone can negatively impact our well-being. Following a number of reports from national health and safety agencies, the European Commission outright banned the use of BPA in the manufacture of bottles intended for baby feeding. The evidence for the harmfulness of this substance, particularly in infants, became simply indisputable. Not one year passed, and the U.S. also took major steps towards the elimination of BPA.
We’ve been using plastic materials for selling and storing our food for quite some time now, which makes the legal action all the more worrisome. It begs the question: just how did we get to a place where we have to ban manufacturers from using toxic substances in their products?
Let’s take a deeper dive into the consequences of overusing plastics and how plastic can kill your testosterone levels.
It doesn’t matter how big your chest and biceps are; if you have narrow shoulders, you will appear to be weak and puny. Someone will surely kick sand on you at the beach, and Arnold would not approve of that. If this is you, check out this list of the best shoulder exercises and put some caps on those delts in the next 3 months.
For bodybuilders, powerlifters, athletes, and all other fitness buffs in between, wide shoulders will make you look tall, broad, and powerful so that you can be the one defending geeks from sand kicking bullies, and they can help you throw the ball hard enough to win the game. Flabby or narrow shoulders lend absolutely nothing to your physique.
Everyone needs to train their shoulders.
Strong shoulders help with every other exercise, from bench press to pull-ups, and for all you boxers and MMA guys, well-conditioned shoulders will help you to win a fight.
It is also very important to have a strong shoulder girdle, including the rotator cuff area, to prevent injuries from sports and heavy lifting.
Hitting the gym supremely hard could very well lead to dramatic results. Then again, even a moderate workout could deliver nice changes to a physique over time. Newly fitness-minded people often dedicate themselves quite admirably in the gym. They want to see big changes. That’s a fine attitude, but the attitude may also be a bit short-sighted if they don’t follow the right post-workout strategy. What you do outside the gym factors heavily into whether or not you see results.
The right and wrong post-workout strategy can respectively lead to improvements or setbacks. You want to focus on the right things to do after a heavy workout session.
Today, we present a handful of tips to improve your lifestyle post-workout with the intent to maximize results for both noobs and seasoned gym veterans.
In bodybuilding, the anabolic state is when muscle growth happens. It is the period when your body repairs muscle tissue, builds strength, and stores energy. Recovery during this phase determines how much progress you make. Stress, inflammation, and poor sleep can shorten the anabolic window. That is where CBD is gaining attention. While it will not build muscle on its own, it may help you create the ideal conditions for growth.
Let’s take a deeper dive into the anabolic state so we can learn and understand the best ways to enhance muscle growth with CBD supplementation.
According to a recent report, 90% of people quit working out within 3 months of starting. As such, you must find as many ways as possible to stay motivated when working out. This means that with every session (and every drop of sweat), you’re moving one step closer toward your goals, as opposed to ending up at square one all over again.
With that in mind, here are some of our experts’ top tips for staying motivated when working out.
If you find that you have been waking up with back pain or if your shoulders are starting to feel stiff, it is cause for concern. Sometimes, everyday pain can sneak up on you.
Everyday pain happens often if you’ve been sitting for long periods of time, glued to your screens. It also happens when you are stressed or sick. During those difficult times, we want to seek out solutions for pain relief or pain management, but we don’t always know what to do.
You don’t have to live with this kind of discomfort, and you may not need to jump straight into taking medication either. Here are some tips for helping you cope.
Your mental health matters, and it’s important to remember that. It can often take a backseat in life, especially for those who are busy with work or simply living life. When you strive to improve your mental health, there is a direct translation to your physical health.
We forget that our mental health matters greatly to the rest of our body. When your mental health is compromised in some way, it does affect the rest of you.
Here are five ways to improve your mental health today, for the better.
Making a good impression with your style and exterior professional aesthetic is crucial. Sprucing up your look can be quick, simple, and inexpensive, but you must first know what you’re looking for. Whether you’re trying to create a more professional look or you’re hoping to impress clients in your workplace, there are so many reasons why you might want to upgrade your style.
Consider the following six simple ideas, and you’ll soon be one step closer to achieving your professional aesthetic!
Today’s piece is presented by our Swole Mom contributor, Jen. In these brutal coronavirus times, it’s more important than ever to stick to meal plans and keep our diets on track. Swole author Jen has come to us today to present a daily meal plan that can easily be followed while working from home, homeschooling, carting toddlers around, or even while following a regular workplace commuter schedule.
Hopefully, these tips can help all the Moms rearrange their meal planning.
When someone you love experiences a major health issue, life can shift dramatically – for them and you. The path to recovery is often long and complex, requiring more than just medical care. As a caregiver or supportive family member, your role becomes one of both emotional anchor and practical facilitator. From adapting the home environment for safety, to helping them manage chronic pain, to navigating daily chores and securing outside help, your support can make a profound difference in their recovery journey.
If your loved one has encountered a major health issue, providing them with the support they need will be a priority. While they might be too proud to ask for it, there is no doubt that they will appreciate your support at this time.
This article outlines 5 key areas where you can step in to support your loved one holistically, including the often-overlooked benefit of talk therapy for both patient and caregiver.
Muscle ‘pump‘ is a commonly used term amongst bodybuilders, and it means pumping up your muscles by doing vigorous exercises. This increase in muscle size is temporary and can be achieved quickly by using lighter weights and higher reps, and by resting only briefly between sets. You see beginner athletes wondering, “What is the pump?” and “How do I get a pump?” – well, it’s not that difficult, believe it or not. Getting pumped is much easier than setting a new PR, that’s for sure.
Read more to learn about what the pump in the gym is all about.
Alright, let’s talk body recomp aka the magic of losing fat and building muscle at the same time. Sounds like a unicorn, right? But it’s not. It’s totally doable, especially if you’re smart about your nutrition and training. Two popular strategies that come up a lot when people are trying to “recomp” are intermittent fasting and carb cycling. They’re both backed by passionate fitness communities, and both can work incredibly well, if you know how to use them right.
But here’s the million-dollar question: Which one’s better for body recomposition? Should you be skipping breakfast and timing your meals like a clock (hello, intermittent fasting)? Or should you be adjusting your carbs based on your workout days like some sort of macro-counting wizard (what’s up, carb cycling)? Let’s break it all down, real-talk style.
You’ve successfully lost weight, but now you’re struggling to get rid of that loose skin. Although losing weight is an achievement worth celebrating, the flabby and loose skin that remains can leave you feeling unhappy. But the solution is here: Collagen for loose skin plays a vital role in helping you restore your body shape.
Collagen is a protein that is responsible for keeping your skin young, elastic, and firm. In this post, we will learn how collagen supplements can help you get your skin back into shape. We will see how collagen works, which collagen supplements are the most effective ones, and how you can support your skin’s recovery with this.
You lift hard. You train often. You eat well. You LOVE vegetables, but you still wonder if vegan protein can support muscle growth. I asked the same question.
Most people think animal protein is the only answer. Many believe plants fall short. That’s not true. Science says something different. So does my personal progress. And Sunwarrior played a major role in it.
Today, we are here to explain all this to you, the reader. In this article, find out how vegan protein is really helpful when considering updating your diet strategy to maximize muscle gains.
