Think Fit. Be Fit.

Welcome to Exercise Science Insider #4 with Rob DiDinato, whom is my classmate and colleague in the elite MATRx program.   We discuss some problems in youth sports: burn out, injuries and not allowing them to be students of the game.   We share ideas on how to go beyond band-aids for athletic injuries and actually provide an opportunity to develop athletic excellence.     The theme of this episode is ‘Less is more’.  This especially comes through when the conversation moves to Isometric Exercise around 27 minutes.     Please enjoy and let us know if you have any questions or are interested to learn more about Isometric Exercise.   Links of interest: Jennn on instagram @impact_your_fitness   Rob on instagram @_robdidonato  @Myocortex https://myocortex.com/   ACL injuries are on the rise https://www.aappublications.org/news/2017/02/22/ACLTear022217   Fifa 11+ warm-up program to prevent injury in field sports https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4245655/   Isophit machine https://www.striation6.com/iso

Exercise is a tool for optimization. There is no one single way to accomplish this, there are many avenues!  However, If this one big thing is misjudged you could be headed for disaster; the amount of fatigue in your workouts.   If you notice that you barely get what you put into exercise, you might be falling for this huge fallacy in fitness, that states of fatigue are required to get results.   The truth is that your body doesn’t require you to kill it and walk around with sore muscles.  Join Rui and Jenn for an episode of Exercise Science Insider to explore the inner workings of fatigue and exercise.     What you’ll learn in this episode: Some of the neural and muscular inner workings of fatigue and exercise Why you don’t want to waste your workouts on too much fatigue There are connections between pain and exercise fatigue How we help our clients understand this concept so that they can get more out of every workout.   Links of interest: https://www.instagram.com/oitoo_fitness/ (Rui on Ins

The ultimate opportunity with being fit and staying fit is carrying over strength from decade to decade.  Hamstrings are majorly important because this group of muscles are such a common hurdle for active people.     Not knowing how to make them more flexible Not know how to target their weaknesses And how they can fail us during high speed movements which impacts the knee ligaments directly.   This isn’t the first or last time I’ll say this: Healthy muscle mass is one of the keys to successful aging. It’s scary to think that this can be taken away with a single injury that compounds into an exercise and wellness road block.  The solution with Think Fit Be Fit is to learn more about the thing you are trying to change:  YOUR BODY check out my guide on weak + tight hamstrings.  CLICK HERE   What you’ll learn in this episode The specifics of a hamstring targeted exercise the importance of the Strength Curve How I challenge my hamstrings and protect them from injury That deadlifts are my last choice fo

The answer? Knowing what you are challenging and why. It’s typical to get hamstring exercises from your PT or sports cross-training plan, but these exercises are usually non-specific and assume that all cases of hamstring weakness are the same…they’re not!    If you are:  An athlete of any type. Suffering from a history of knee or lower back and hamstring injury. Someone who is lacking quality in their hamstring strengthening. Anyone who wants a deeper connection with their muscles and strength training, strengthen your WHY. This is the podcast for you.  Did you know that healthy, strong hamstrings are supportive of your knee function? You don’t need to suffer from weak hamstrings, simply educating yourself on your body and integrating knowledge with how your body works will help shift your health and muscle connectivity - making living in your body a blissful experience. In this episode we’ll discuss:   Insider exercise science knowledge about hamstrings function that help our overall move

This plagues so many active people; hamstrings that just don’t quit. They carry a sensation of tightness most of their day or  tightness that pops up days after a rigorous workout.. While this may be normal, it’s not productive for your workouts.   One of the most common observations that people have about their active body is that their hamstrings are ‘tight’.  This is usually followed by some type of comment expressing disappointment in their ‘lack of stretching’ to resolve their tight hamstrings.  Here’s what is going on in my head: if your stretching actually worked, you would be doing it.”  That’s the plainest, most vanilla explanation for a lack of exercise adherence - but it’s true in most situations.  If you are motivated enough to learn more about your body through this podcast then if the exercises or stretches helped you’d be doing them. This podcast episode will leave you scratching your head about why your hamstrings have been fighting you.  The discussion is centered around the 5 possibilitie

Holding onto pain-free exercise as we biologically age is a big deal. Healthy muscle mass is one of the keys to successful aging. When you’ve worked hard to achieve your fitness or injury recovery goal it’s important to take a step back and refine your process to ensure that your progress is maintained.  This solo-cast from Jenn proposes that we all take a the time to evaluate what we need to do maintain our fitness status quo.     Opportunity Cost is a  resource management concept that is almost exclusively taught in MBA programs but could apply broadly across many life aspects including exercise to maintain healthy joints.  It is defined as “A benefit, profit, or value of something that must be given up to acquire or achieve something else,” this is most useful in the context of exercise strategy to realize the value of your time.    What you’ll learn in this episode: Why you need the Strategic Goal Grid to do this How muscles decline as we age The 3 concepts that Jenn uses to teach this concept   Links of

Any true fitness professional will tell you that trends appear with little to no outside validation or scientific thought process.  Jenn and her guest Morgan Williams discuss their 2 decades of experience as fitness professionals. They sift through the different areas of exercise application, the trials of being fit , maintaining healthy joints and exploring their competitive nature as female athletes.     The bottom line is, if you have a belief in your ability to improve your body with exercise - you don’t have to rely on diluted and shallow information to guide you along the way. This episode pulls the curtain back on changes throughout their careers and how they continue to strive to be the best for their clients.   What you’ll learn in this episode:  How Jenn and Morgan have changed their approach to helping people with previous injuries get fit and stay fit.  Mistakes they’ve made with our business, clients and within our own exercise. The insight on changing trends from a Muscle Activation Tech

Do you worry about your body changing over the years?  I hear concerns all the time about not being able to achieve the body or athleticism of the past.   Join Jenn and Dr. Eleni Boosalis for a conversation that is a blend of personal fitness experience and professional knowledge of accepting change with grace.  Dr. Eleni of Del Ray Psych in Alexandria Virginia brings an incredible wealth of knowledge to the conversation as well as her unique experience of losing 55+ pounds after each of her 3 children.       What you’ll learn in this episode: -Fitness is feeling amazing in your body.  This priceless feeling only comes with acceptance of your self and where you are in your process. -How two trainers instructing you to do the same workouts can yield opposing results. -How you identify with your progress and self will have a big impact on your fitness outcomes.   More info on: Female hormones, Relaxin hormone secretion and breastfeeding:  https://kellymom.com/sponsors/meet-sponsor-fourth-trimester/   Links of i

This episode is a stunning example of how simplicity and science can harmonize for effective exercise.  This harmony isn’t possible without a deep understanding of movement and neural pathways, but don't worry we make this lesson fun and interesting!   Join Jenn Schwartz and Rui Reis for a conversation about a novel way of injury rehab, exercise and re-wiring the brain for successful exercise and pain-free movement.     This will be an enlightening episode if you are open to the idea that injury and joint rehab exercise does not have to be centered on taking away movements or making the exercise ‘less stressful’.  We will show you that there is a type of training that focuses on your mind and body’s attention to engaged and fluid exercise.  It is a miraculous way to leave cycles of pain, injury and bad exercise.       What you’ll learn in this episode: What it means to use imagery in strength training to improve perceptions of pain Novels ways to train the brain out of cycles of pain and exercise Brai

Meet Dr. Stephanie Johnson DC!  She is a full time chiropractic provider, business owner and super-jacked CrossFit athlete.  She and Jenn discuss the importance of being proactive with your chiropractor as well as mindful decision-making for maintaining good habits and posture.     Things you’ll learn in this episode: How a forward head posture can predispose an athlete to injuries The importance of breath and posture A mindfulness approach to Active Recovery   Links of interest: Stephanie’s practice https://www.sjohnsonchiropractic.com/ https://posichiro.com/team/dr-stephanie-johnson-2/   Active Release Technique http://www.activerelease.com/   OTZ method https://otzhealthed.com/   Robert Sapolsky “Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers" https://profiles.stanford.edu/robert-sapolsky

Give your exercise a full upgrade! Do you want to develop a better connection with your exercise – minus the frustration of old injuries or relying on specialists or therapists?   If so, this is for you!   Here's what you’ll get with Movement Pathways – a live course offered on June 7-9 at Local Motion Project in Alexandria, Virginia and an online course that will be available on June 20th:   FAQ 1. What is Movement Pathways? 2. Who is Movement Pathways for? 3. When should we use these exercises? 4.  Why are these exercise sequences better than what is available online?   Sign up here! https://jennschwartz.kartra.com/page/registerJune https://clients.mindbodyonline.com/asp/main_enroll.asp?fl=true&tabID=107   Learn more about isometrics: https://www.instagram.com/tv/BwAUWlzlmeO/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link   Arthritis  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780443103438000056   Nerve/shoulder or RC problem, interesting video on the nerve influence possibilities, however I do not recommend th

Chronic pain and under-performing muscles can slow down our exercise and age us faster. Exercise – and specifically strength training – has the power to improve muscle mass and joints. Muscle mass is the number one measurement of quality of life for adults, but we rarely discuss it in the context of functional aging and exercise. Many people are told to work around old injuries, limit themselves and fear the oncoming repeats.  Connecting the dots between muscle mass, the new findings of Pain Science, and finding exercises that work just for an individual's unique body will give us possibilities to challenge ourselves despite old injuries.   This episode includes a lot of interesting information about the new developments in how movement pain should be treated and how we can start to explain that joint damage and pain-free exercise can co-exist.   Things you’ll learn in this episode:  It’s possible that your pain can increase by the things that you encounter on a daily basis: environmental, social and moveme

Join Meredith McDonough and Jenn for a look at how so many of us are letting our personal blindspots keep us in a cycle of bad exercise.  Meredith McDonough is an Intuitive Problem Solver that uses Quantum Touch, Hypnotherapy, Psychic Awareness and Reiki to help individuals deal with the internal load of thoughts being out of alignment with our actions.   Continual exercise effort does not mean a positive outcome will happen.  We want to feel justified by our macro counting, heart rate zones and pushing the weights, but the truth is that there are many more factors involved. Issues such as over-indulging, over-exercising, and repeated disappointment with exercise are a box of emotions that are holding you back from your goals.    This podcast episode explores the interconnectedness of our body, brain and mind to healthy movement and exercise with a discussion on self-limiting beliefs and intuitive heart healing.   What you’ll learn in this episode: How choosing healing over fear can help you break down dest

This episode is packed with soulful energy of Jenn’s fitness journey along with a description of specific cognitive blocks that kept her and many of her clients from achieving fulfillment with exercise.   She discusses a wide variety of topics related to being held back by personal blind spots; fitness codependency, the placebo effect, the stress adaptation curve and how a major life trauma fueled her Think Fit. Be Fit inspiration.   Links of interest: [Freebie! ]. Download the “The 4 Things Holding You back from a Full Injury Recovery” https://jennschwartz.kartra.com/page/injuryrecovery1   [Learning opportunity!] Register for the Movement Pathways course in Alexandria Virginia or online pre-sale! https://jennschwartz.kartra.com/page/registerJune   Stanford Pain Medicine on Twitter https://twitter.com/StanfordPain   Jenn on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/impact_your_fitness/

Those of us with previous injuries can’t afford to waste time in the gym on what we ’think’ should be working, The ability to maintain and gain physical strength for our entire body is not born from a reactive or passive process.  This episode is dedicated to exercises that create a healing stimulus, which belongs in your Active Recovery routine in order to perform well on all aspects of your fitness for the long-term.   Benefits to having Active Recovery part of your workout regimen: The opportunity to rehearse exercises that are difficult and work on the pieces of full performance of that exercise Improving the chances of consistent exercise and exercise longevity by preventing a lot of muscle soreness Improving flexibility & strength Building resistance to injury What you’ll learn in this episode: Why NSAIDS are a bad idea for muscle soreness 2 concepts that most trainers and therapists do not teach when it comes to managing chronic injury Why tendon strength and recovery might matter more th

If you want to amp your gains from the gym, then participating in Active Recovery is a must.  Active Recovery is a blend of activities that help your body manage energy to produce changes that will get your stronger, lose fat or improve sport performance. This includes targeted exercises, mental performance concepts, quality sleep and, of course, nutrition.   You will do better at your fitness goals, whether that’s the healing process of injury recovery or training for a  competitive run, when you implement consistent Active Recovery. The vast capacities of the body’s ability to adapt are waiting for you!   What you’ll learn in this episode: How to manage consistent workout progress if you have old injuries How to add more value to your workouts while managing your daily stress Jenn’s supplement stack and how she does Active Recovery within her training process   Links of interest: Download the User’s Guide to Boutique Fitness   Learn about sleep, recovery and implementing a training process Epi

One of the most requested subjects on the podcast is teaching people to invest time and money wisely in exercise choices. A positive exercise experience is one of the main ingredients to an effective one, which is part of the reason why we are focusing on Boutique Fitness for Strength Training. Boutique Fitness is served up in small gyms that blend affordable fitness, exciting ways to move and instructor creativity. Socialization and exercise are basic needs for maintaining happiness, so why not get both in one place?     The choices that you have in boutique fitness are just as fun or annoying as searching for a new hair stylist or finding your perfect restaurant. You can read all the reviews you want, but you won’t find many critical thinkers out there telling you what’s legit and who follows through with their promised benefits. Looking for good boutique fitness was like looking for a good foodie group on Facebook – frustrating and full of amateurs.     Because of this problem, I prepared this guide fr

Jenn and Arash (AJ) are pretty convinced that most people don’t know how good their body is designed to feel.  Embracing the ME-search research strategy can help anyone exercise with more precision. This is a key concept if you desire the enlightenment of being in control of your health and exercise.   This episode is all about exploring curiosity and applying exercise science to being innovative and precise with your exercise.  The question is, do you have the work ethic to make it a reality?   What you’ll learn in this episode: a thought process that supports long term athletic and resiliency development vital points for working through injury recovery and implementing solid training practices. injury recovery advice from a licensed Athletic Trainer about an unknown brain injury consideration finding a balance between challenging yourself and being good to yourself some boss warm-up tips that combine high level lateral thinking and neurological training stimulus Links of interest: http://www.t

Balancing the science and application of Exercise Science starts with ME-search. Join Jenn for a Lab of Me episode as she reviews the concepts and rationale for chasing a 200 lb back squat for her 1RM.   What you’ll learn in this episode: Process based vs outcome fixation is not only specific steps, it is also a mindset. ME-search is a mindset that you are pinpointing the variables that can stimulate positive changes. Links of interest: Read more about HRV https://guenergy.com/pros-track-heart-rate-variability/   Trainer Evin who’s helping me with programming and periodization https://www.instagram.com/en_vi_us/ (https://www.instagram.com/en_vi_us/)   Micronutrient testing https://www.spectracell.com/patients/patient-micronutrient-testing/   Great resource for Exercise Science and Physiology https://www.facebook.com/precisionhumanperformance/   A great article on self-improvement and measurable action steps https://medium.com/personal-growth/the-scientific-argument-for-mastering-one-thin

Pulling up sore after your weekly runs? It could be a bigger problem than you think, it could be a small fixable issue.  The answers lie within the bigger global question that Think Fit. Be Fit. wants to help you answer. How do we exercise, compete, and have fun without pain despite our old injuries? The conversation on this always comes back to owning your training process, the ultimate fitness hack to what really matters: exercise longevity. This episode covers running topics related to injury prevention and getting stronger. The important step is that you recognize that once a sports injury is sustained that it can continue to haunt you until you address with tailored strength training and a wholistic awareness of your training process. Inside the solo-cast you will find examples of common running issues that strength training can address. However we promote the use of detailed assessments to get detailed in the strength training. If you don’t want to get deeper with your exercise and prefer to ‘just do i