Chuze Fitness

Chuze Chiefs Talk Family

Wed, 27 Jan 2021 17:00:08 GMT

‘Family’ is at the very core of who we are.

For the whole month of January, we’ve been celebrating family near and far — our members, our employees, and those whose vision sparked what is now Chuze Fitness. To learn more about how it all got started, check out our California Roots blog!

In the spirit of family, we sat down with some of our fearless leaders who were at the core of building what we now lovingly call the Chuze Family to tell their story. Chuze Fitness CEO Cory Brightwell, COO Nick Barshick, and CAO Melissa Sowell, all lifelong friends, reminisce about the very first days of Chuze Fitness in Carlsbad, California, and their reflections on how family courses through the veins of the company today- in true, modern-day Zoom-style.

We are grateful to have YOU as a part of the Chuze Family! We wouldn’t be the same without each and every one of you. If you have yet to join a Chuze gym, take a look at our locations to join our fitness family. (They’re ALL open!)

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What is Fartlek Training?

Mon, 25 Jan 2021 18:00:25 GMT

What is Fartlek Training?

One of the many reasons we love running is the amount of variety it allows. Running outside is a sensory symphony of sights, sounds, and smells; running indoors is an exercise best suited to a rocking soundtrack, and marathon runners know that there’s nothing like being cheered on by a crowd gaping in awe of the accomplishment you’re achieving.

The variety that comes with running also gives us the freedom to develop training plans that suit every one of us individually, plans that make us better runners than we were the day before. Some runners prefer endurance training, some focus on power in short bursts, others are more concerned with gaining vertical distance up hills and mountains, and plenty are just getting started at a good old walking pace.

Whatever your current training preference is, we have a method to share that has the potential to make your running experience a little more fun, a little more intuitive, and perhaps a lot more effective.

So what is this miracle running regimen?

Fartlek training.

What is Fartlek Training?

Fartlek is a method of training for long-distance running.

The origins of the fartlek training lie in Sweden in the 1930s, as the Swedish distance running team struggled against their Finnish competitors. To remedy a lack of special training facilities, the idea of training in a way that was more natural arose.

Fartlek is Swedish for “speed play.” It’s a form of interval training based on the natural world you run in.

The general idea behind fartlek sessions is using your surroundings to encourage you to run faster. So basically, you go out running at a marathon pace (slow and sustainable), you lock onto some obstacle or landmark ahead of you—be it a building, street, light pole, tree, you name it—and pick up your speed to a 5k pace until you reach that landmark. You’ll then return to that slower pace until you find yourself inspired to pick it up again by something else.

Fartlek is both a fantastic introduction to running because it isn’t rigid or extreme, as well as a useful tool for lifelong marathon runners who need to shake up their routine in either preseason or sprinkled into a pre-race regimen.

At any level, the key to success in fartlek running training is establishing your two paces and sticking to them.

What are the Benefits of Fartlek Training?

Most things can be both a blessing and a curse, and traditional running training is no different.

On the one hand, having a strict running regimen can be fantastic—it helps you stay accountable, focus on the tiny details you need to watch in your technique, and gives you a level of control over your body when creating a training plan for a marathon. That watch on your wrist is a vital tool to keep you on your game.

On the other hand, that strict regimen can be a little overwhelming at times. Some days, it feels more like the watch on your arm is judging you than supporting you, and a performance plateau can send the best runners in the world into a state of discouragement.

This is where fartlek training shines.

The simplest benefits of fartlek training are for new runners. Fartlek is arguably the most approachable way to start running. You move at a slower pace when it feels right and pick it up when you’re inspired.

For advanced runners looking to improve performance, fartlek is the gateway to improving speed and endurance. If you want to improve your speed work, you should work on increasing your slower pace. If endurance is your aim, make the slower bouts shorter and shorter over time. To improve both, incorporate both a faster slow pace and shorter slow bouts.

Anyone who participates in fartlek is training the mind-body connection that is so important to running (and everything else we do); it forces you to put mind over matter and push yourself to your limits without the pressure of a clock.

What does a Fartlek Running Workout Look Like?

Fartlek running training is divided, like most runs, into three parts: warmup, intervals, cool down.

You can parse this in many ways, but a basic fartlek interval workout could be 10 minutes warming up, 20 minutes using natural landmarks to guide the speed of your run, and 10 minutes of cooldown.

Fartlek is a fantastic approach to running because it makes it less serious and more natural, more fun. You can use music instead of natural landmarks to choose when to pick up the pace, especially if you live in a cold environment and the treadmill is your best friend for cooler months. Fartlek running doesn’t require much preparation, and having a more intuitive approach to running allows you to work with your body to help it support your goals.

There is room for every runner in fartlek training. All you have to do is put your running shoes on, get outside, and allow yourself to get inspired! If you would like to practice running, we have treadmills at all of our locations. You can also enjoy treadmill training session videos on our virtual fitness platform, iChuze Fitness (grab a free 7-day trial here). We can’t wait to welcome you to the Chuze Family!

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3 Plyometric Exercises for Beginners

Fri, 22 Jan 2021 03:55:57 GMT

3 Plyometric Exercises for Beginners

We recently dove into—or, should we say, “jumped” into—plyometrics training on our blog. This form of workout is a calorie-blaster, can be suited to fit your fitness level, and is pretty fun if you ask us. (Go ahead, ask us!) Today we wanted to equip you with three plyometric drills for beginners that you can try today!

1| Squat Jumps

If you’ve been around here for any time now, you know we love squats. Add a jump to them, and you got a workout winner! This plyometric movement is excellent for beginners who have their squat form down (core engaged, straight back, etc.). If that sounds like you, then you might be ready to add on the jump for a dynamic movement!

How To Do A Squat Jump

Stand with your feet hip-distance apart
Point your toes slightly outward
Bend your knees to 90-degrees while engaging your core and keeping your back straight
Jump up from the squat position as high as you can, keeping your core engaged
Land softly back into starting position with your knees bent

Things to Remember

Avoid bending your knee over your toes
Do not hunch your back
Do not lock your knees when you land

A Little More Info

If you haven’t quite worked your way up to a jump squat yet, you can try standing up instead of jumping. This adds a dynamic movement without the impact on your joints. For some of us with a previous injury, this just won’t be a move that we can do, which is A-okay. There are tons of squat variations—we even made a video a few years ago to show them off. You can find the jump squat starting at 10 seconds.

2 | Long Jumps

Long jumps are another tremendous plyometric workout for beginners because the movement is familiar. Many of us had to at least attempt long jumps in High School during gym class, and whether or not you fell in love with them then, they can be quite fun to do as an adult. Instead of jumping upward as you would in the squat jump, this movement asks you to propel yourself forward, utilizing different muscles that will help with endurance exercises as you continue to practice.

How To Do A Long Jump

Standing with the feet a little wider than hip-distance apart, bend your knees and get into your squat position
Use all of your muscle strength to jump as far forward as possible
Bend your knees as you land to absorb the shock
Land on both feet at once
Jog backward to starting position and repeat

Things To Remember

Do not lock your knees as you land
Be sure to keep your muscles engaged as you begin to jump
Do not allow your knee to go over your toes as you squat down

A Little More Info

While this is not the same as a long jump on a track where you might run and jump forward to exert all of your energy, benefits remain. This is a great way to get used to jumping and even work your way up to more advanced exercises like the frog jump, tuck jump, and more!

3 | Burpees

Along with squats, we really love burpees. They may just be one of the most effective full-body movements you can possibly do, and they have a pretty cool history. One of the reasons we love burpees for beginners is because you can do variations of this exercise to match your skill level—allowing you to start with some assistance and work your way up to advanced variations as you get stronger.

How To Do A Burpee

Start standing with your feet hip-width apart
Quickly drop into a push-up position by placing your hands on the ground and shooting your feet out as quickly as possible
Do a push-up and use the energy of the second half of that push-up to move your feet back toward your hands, landing you in a low squat
Jump into the air as high as you can and repeat

Things To Remember

Form matters! (Keep that in mind for all of these plyometric workouts.) If you start to feel yourself arching your back, locking your knees, or any other no-no, take a break or stop for the day
Do not hold your breath
Do not force yourself to do an advanced version when you are not ready—you gotta start somewhere

A Little More Info

For other variations we love, you can simply drop into the pushup position and then walk your way up and repeat. Drop into the pushup position and jump back up. Or do the full movement. We dive into proper form, history, and more here if you would like to learn more about the burpee.

If you are ready to add plyometric exercises to your workout, you can do so at any of our locations. We also have wonderful workout videos led by our incredible instructors on iChuze Fitness. Try our virtual fitness platform out today to experience the Chuze Difference. Virtually or in-person, we will see ya soon!

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What is Plyometric Training?

Mon, 18 Jan 2021 18:24:02 GMT

What is Plyometric Exercise Training?

The best wellness regimens have lots of variety because forcing the body to react to different movements in new ways ultimately makes you stronger, faster, and more agile.

There are so many types of training to incorporate into your fitness routine—interval training, strength training, core work, pilates, and endurance training, to name a few. One of the most beautiful things about moving our bodies is our agency, our ability to choose what feels the best for us.

Some training methods are on the mellow side, and while everybody needs to incorporate the types of exercise that allow for recovery, sometimes it’s better to pump things up to the next level.

Enter: plyometrics exercises.

What is Plyometrics?

When we say plyometrics training will take you to the next level, we mean that very literally. Plyometrics is also known as “jump training” because plyometrics’ foundational explosive movement is the jump. Plyometrics is a category of training characterized by exerting maximum force in short bursts.

The result? A massive increase in power.

What Are Plyometric Exercises?

You can find some examples of plyometric exercises on any playground in the world. Jumping, skipping, bounding, and hopping are all technically plyometric movements because they all require such a rapid burst of energy to perform!

If you’re wondering what types of plyometric workout movements you can incorporate into your workouts, give these a try:

Squat jumps

Stand with your feet hip-width apart or slightly wider. Bend your knees to a 90-degree angle, keeping your chest up, back flat, and core engaged. Squat jump as high as you can, landing in your squat position, and repeat.

Clapping Push-Up

Starting in a push-up position with your hands below your shoulders, back flat, tail tucked under, and abs engaged, lower into your push-up. Once you reach the bottom, use all of your strength to push so hard back up that your hands leave the ground. Bring them together in the air for a clap and bend your elbows as you come down to lead you into the next one.

We recommend that you leave the clap out the first couple of times you try this.

Burpees

Start standing with your feet hip-width apart. Quickly drop into a push-up position by placing your hands on the ground and shooting your feet out as quickly as possible.

Do a push-up and use the energy of the second half of that push-up to shoot your feet back toward your hands, landing you in a low squat. Jump into the air as high as you can and repeat.

Long jump

Standing with your feet a little wider than hip-distance apart, bend your knees, and use all of your strength to jump as far forward as possible. Bend your knees as you land to absorb the shock. If you’re outside, keep going forward; if you’re inside, turn around and repeat.

Frog Jump

The frog jump is going to be pretty similar to the long jump, except in this case, you’re going to start in such a deep squat that your hands can touch the floor (you know the drill: keep your chest up and your back straight). Now, use all of the force in your legs to jump. While this move invariably takes you forward, this time, emphasize height a little more than forward distance.

Like the long jump, do these continually forward or back and forth, depending on how much space you have to move in.

Alternating Lunge Jumps

You’ll begin your alternating lunge jumps with one foot forward. Bend your knees to 90-degree angles, jump upward with all of your power, switch your legs so that you land with the opposite leg forward, lower into the opposite lunge as you land, and repeat on the other side.

Tuck Jumps

Stand tall with your feet hip-width distance apart. Bend your knees into a small squatted position (as much as you need), and jump straight up as high as you possibly can. Come back down on the balls of your feet, bending your knees to absorb the shock of the landing. Try not to miss a beat before jumping back up.

For extra brownie points, clasp your fingers behind your head with your elbows out. That way, you can’t use the momentum of your arms to help the journey up.

What are the benefits of Plyometric Training?

The benefits of plyometric training include (but are definitely not limited to):

Accessibility (you can do these absolutely anywhere)
Increasing muscle tone
Burning lots of calories
Supporting metabolism
Boosting cardiovascular health
Increasing stamina

Who should utilize Plyometric Training?

Traditionally, plyometric training has been utilized by high-level athletes to improve their game. But does that mean ONLY athletes can make these moves?

Absolutely not.

Plyometric training has fantastic benefits for anyone who can perform these exercises. As long as you are confident in your fitness level (especially concerning balance and joint mobility), you can incorporate plyometric drills into your training.

If you have suffered joint injuries in the past or have trouble with your ankles (these exercises can cause rolling if you’re not careful), be sure to work your way up with these movements. And everyone should speak to their doctors before implementing new training techniques to their workout regimens.

If you’re ready to reach new heights with your fitness program, it might be time to give plyometrics a shot! You can give it a try at any of our locations, or follow one of our plyometrics workouts on our virtual fitness platform iChuze Fitness. Give it a try today!

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What Is Loving Kindness Meditation?

Thu, 14 Jan 2021 18:00:28 GMT

What Is Loving-Kindness Meditation? Everything You Need To Know

When we were young, we all quickly learned the sentiment, “Treat others the way you wish to be treated.” For many of us, it is part of our nature to show kindness to the people we come across every day. But, when it comes to self-compassion or compassion for people we may not get along with well, it is much more of a process. This is where loving-kindness meditation comes in.

What Is Loving-Kindness Meditation?

Loving-kindness meditation invites you to focus on positivity, gratitude, kindness, and empathy towards yourself and others. In this form of meditation, you will be grounded with a mantra that focuses in on wishing well to yourself and others. As is true with most forms of meditation, this practice takes just a few minutes a day, and the results (listed below) are impactful.

Loving Kindness For Self

There’s a famous quote by Ru Paul, “If you can’t love yourself, how in the [heck] are you gonna love somebody else?” and that’s a profound question to ask. How can you show love to others if you are unkind when it comes to your self-image and self-talk. We have to work on being kind to ourselves so that we can be the best version of ourselves for the rest of the world. Loving-kindness meditation not only says that we should simply be kind to ourselves but, rather, ‘generously’ kind to ourselves. Allowing us to tap into the things we love about ourselves and begin to support our own lives.

Loving Kindness For Loved Ones

Another staple of loving-kindness meditation is to express gratitude and love for those closest to you. This tends to come a little more naturally for us and is a positive way to set your intentions for the day. Outwardly expressing kindness to those you love is just about the most feel-good thing you can do.

Loving Kindness For Someone You Dislike

Unfortunately, we all have people in our lives who we just don’t get along with, and that’s okay. You are not on earth to be everyone’s best friend, but you are here to be kind. Loving-kindness meditation asks you to think about someone you dislike and wish them health, happiness, and peace. Though this may be difficult the first few times, over time, it can get more comfortable, and you might even find yourself developing a little more empathy for those you don’t quite get along with. If this brings up too many emotions in you, redirect this section back to yourself to give yourself compassion in the moment.

Loving Kindness For All

The world needs kindness every day. We are all connected as human beings, and loving-kindness meditation asks you to consider all living beings in one of your mantras to be safe, happy, healthy, and at peace. This marks the end of a loving-kindness session.

Loving Kindness Mantras You Can Try

For this form of meditation, one is typically sending kindful thoughts to themselves and others. It may feel a little different at first, but as you practice, this can also become very meaningful on a deep level. Here is a simple meditation to try:

Thinking of self:

May I be happy
May I have peace
May I be healthy

Thinking of a loved-one:

May you be happy
May you have peace
May you be healthy

Thinking of someone you do not like:

May you be happy
May you have peace
May you be healthy

Thinking of all living things:

May all be happy
May all have peace
May all be healthy

To be impactful, move through all forms of this mantra, starting with yourself and ending with all living beings.

The Benefits of Loving-Kindness Meditation

According to Psychology Today, there are several reasons to try loving-kindness meditation, and they are even backed with science. A few examples of these benefits are an increase in positivity, less chronic pain, more empathy, less bias, and even less self-criticism. All of that can happen from just setting aside 5-10 minutes out of your day to show gratitude and kindness for yourself and others. It truly is a powerful practice.

If you would like to get started with meditation, we have excellent resources on iChuze Fitness, a digital platform that lets you work out, focus on self-care, and show kindness to others from your favorite device. Anytime, anywhere. You can download a free trial for iChuze Fitness on our website. We also have tons of space in all of our locations to practice meditation as you focus on yourself. Whether you join us online or in-club, we cannot wait to welcome you to the Chuze Family.

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4 Foundation Exercises for Weight Training

Mon, 11 Jan 2021 18:00:27 GMT

4 Foundation Exercises for Weight Training

Foundation Training itself is about using your body weight to create more mobility and ease of movement which in turn helps with muscle strength. It is a solution for the way we live today—a lifestyle characterized by being hunched over computers and cell phones, thus weakening our posterior chain muscles, which make up the back of the legs and support the spine.

Before industrialization, we used these muscles all the time; now, because we don’t use them as often as we should, many of us suffer from back pain and are more prone to injury. The beauty of foundation training is that it can be used to help heal a current injury and create support to keep you safer and in less pain in the future.

Foundation training is good for everyone. One of the most famous foundation training workouts was actually developed for Lance Armstrong after a long career of high performance in a sport that didn’t require much lower back movement from its seated position.

Foundation exercise strength training is especially great for improving mobility in weight training, which becomes much more effective when our range of motion allows us to manage the full extent and, therefore, reap the full benefits of any specific movement.

Here are four fitness foundation exercises that will improve your weight training.

1 | The Founder

The founder is the core movement of foundation training; all other movements stem from the postural positions you’ll learn here.

First, stand with your feet about hip-width apart while bending your knees slightly and sitting your hips back. Keep your weight in your heels. (You should be able to lift your toes and maintain this position.)

Don’t let your knees inch in front of your feet. Your shins should be completely perpendicular to the floor. If they’re not, sit into your heels and press your hips back even farther. You might want to do this in front of a couch or bedside the first time just in case you totter over.

Lift your chest and keep your shoulders open. Engage your core. You should have a natural arch in your lower back, but be careful not to let it extend beyond that natural position. You should feel those lower back muscles activating here.

From there, lift your arms forward while maintaining this posture. If you’re a yoga fan, you can think of this as a modified chair pose. Try to reach your arms as high as possible without disrupting your position. If this doesn’t feel available to you yet, reach your arms behind you with your palms facing the floor. Take about 10 seconds of deep breaths here.

Next, you’re going to reach down to the floor with your hands while keeping those knees nice and bent, your hips back, weight in the heels, and back flat. When your hands touch the floor, continue to keep that weight back in your heels as you create length in the back body. Take another 10 seconds of deep breaths.

To come back up, put your hands on your shins to support your body, extend your spine, and look forward as you bring your shoulder blades together and use the muscles in your legs to come up to the initial posture. When your back feels braced, let go of your legs and reach your arms back behind you or above your head for ten more seconds of breaths in the initial founder posture.

Finally, stand up straight and bring your arms down. That is one full founder.

2 | Prone Decompression

For this exercise, get on your stomach. With your legs extended, tuck your toes under your feet.

While squeezing your knees together, bring your hands down to your sides with your palms facing the floor and your pinkies next to your torso. Squeeze your shoulder blades together so your elbows are sticking up behind your back. Your head should come up a few inches off the floor, and you should look straight down with your chin slightly tucked (don’t look forward). Take three deep breaths here, making sure to keep your hips anchored to the floor.

In the next movement, bring your hands forward so that they are palm-down with your thumbs touching the outsides of your shoulders. Keep squeezing those shoulder blades together. To paint a better picture of how this might look, if you were to put your hands down, you would be in the bottom of a push-up position. Hover your upper torso, keep looking down, keep anchoring that pelvis, and take a few more deep breaths.

Now, reach your arms forward and allow your fingers to reach the ground to support the rest of the arms, which should be elevated. Keep your knees together, toes tucked, and pelvis anchored. Keep your gaze to the floor while tucking your chin and pulling your head up toward the ceiling. Take a few more deep breaths here.

This makes up a prone decompression. From here, you can repeat the movements once or twice, taking those long, deep breaths throughout.

3 | 8-Point Plank

The 8-point plank is going to get your core nice and strong while maintaining that supportive back body.

You’ll start this one stomach-down on the floor. Bring your elbows and hands to the ground in front of you. Your elbows should come out just a little bit in front of the shoulders. Keep them at shoulder-width apart with your hands shooting straight forward from there. In yoga terms, this will look kind of like a sphinx pose with your elbows slightly forward. These are your first 4 points of contact with the ground: two hands and two elbows.

The other four points are the knees and feet, which should stay at hip-distance apart with those toes tucked under. At this point, your belly should still be on the ground.

Next is getting into the plank. Start inflating your spine from the top down. This looks like lifting out of the shoulders and engaging the back and core muscles to create that raised position. At the end of this inflation movement, you’ll be in an 8-point plank with your hands, elbows, knees, and toes supporting your body. Don’t let your lower back arch; keep that straight spine.

Take a few deep breaths and come on down.

4 | Anchored Bridge

If you already do activities that require bridges (think yoga and pilates), suspend everything you know about them for this exercise.

Laying flat on your back with your legs out, bend the knees slightly so your heels are touching the ground and your toes are sticking straight in the air. Keep your knees and feet glued together.

Using the point of contact in your heels, lift your hips off the floor. Keep your back flat and your arms by your sides. The purpose of this exercise isn’t to lift your hips as high as possible (they should only come a few inches off the floor) but to engage your entire back body.

Try maintaining this position for 20-30 seconds and keep breathing deeply before gently lowering down.

As you can see, foundation workouts are multidimensional, creating movements that support your back body and make moving through the world an easier, less-painful experience. Add these workouts to your exercise program (and it might take a couple of weeks to adjust to them) and watch your body reap the benefits. You can try foundation exercises at any of our locations. Stop by today to see what the Chuze Difference is all about.

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Guided Meditation: An Interview With Farel Hruska

Thu, 07 Jan 2021 18:00:17 GMT

Guided Meditation: An Interview With Farel Hruska

Your overall health requires more than just a fitness routine. It is essential to focus on your mind, body, and heart. That’s why we’ve included guided meditation on our virtual fitness platform, iChuze Fitness. Today we answer all of your questions about meditation with our Director of Education and Culture, Farel Hruska.

1 | Hello, Farel. Would you mind telling us a little bit about yourself and your journey with Chuze Fitness?

Hi! My name is Farel Hruska and I joined the Chuze Family as the Director of Education and Culture in June of 2018. I have been a part of the fitness industry for almost 20 years and wear a lot of hats; personal trainer, group fitness instructor, pre and postnatal fitness expert and have been humbled by presenting at fitness conferences around the world for several years, as well. When I met Nick and Cory, our COO and CEO respectively, I KNEW that I had found my home with Chuze. I knew that what I believed about overall health and wellness through kindness and compassion was reflected in this amazing company.

2 | I have never meditated before, could you explain what exactly meditation is?

No worries…meditation is a free-flowing practice and there isn’t really a “right way to meditate”. The main objective is to simply slow the mind and ground yourself. Because meditation is often seen as something extensive and elusive, many either get nervous about it or simply don’t try because it feels unattainable or weird. It’s available to anyone and can be practiced in so many ways.

3 | How would you suggest getting started with meditation?

The very first step is to focus on your breath. That’s it. When you slow down enough to focus on/be aware of your breath, you have started meditating. It’s the simple act of slowing your breath and slowing your thoughts.

4 | Sometimes, during guided meditation, my mind wanders and I might completely forget I am even meditating. Do you have advice to help stop that?

My advice? Don’t judge what your mind does. Our minds wander, that is what they do. When you recognize that it is happening, simply re-focus and bring it back. Getting frustrated at your mind is the opposite end result of meditating. Just like anything you practice, like a sport or craft, the more you do it, the better at it you get.

5 | My household is busy, how do I meditate with everything going on around me?

Ah, that’s the best place to practice. Life is chaotic, a beautiful chaos. When we can figure out how to meditate and be mindful in the midst of that chaos, we’ve found the peace we desire! When you find space, even if it’s a few minutes to focus on your breath and calm your thoughts, you will manage that chaos so much better AND quite possibly inspire those in your household to do the same.

6 | What is the best tip you have for someone new to meditation?

Find something that brings you joy and that you will repeat. Just like fitness, there isn’t simply one way to exercise, it needs to be fun/satisfying for you and something you will return to. We have recorded meditations on iChuze Fitness, there are apps like Calm or Headspace to use to guide you through meditation. Or you can connect with nature on a walk or sitting outside. The first and most important step is just start somewhere and see how you feel.

7 | Anything else you would like to share with the Chuze Family?

You are unique, profoundly impactful and the world needs you. When you take time for self-care, like meditation, moving your body, and nourishing your soul, you will end up mom-ming better, dad-ing better, working better, and being in community better. You matter. We see you. Thank you for being part of our Chuze Family!

If you would like to learn more about meditation, tips for self-care, workout information, or anything else related to the mind, body, and heart—check out the other resources on our blog. Our team is passionate about fostering a well-rounded health and fitness routine. You can work on self-care at any of our locations. We hope to see you soon!

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At-Home Workout Equipment For The Whole Family

Tue, 05 Jan 2021 04:57:10 GMT

At-Home Workout Equipment For The Whole Family

When it comes to working out, it can be nice to find time for your whole family to get involved. Not only will your little ones be able to get their wiggles out, but you will get that much-needed self-care time scheduled into your busy day. Here is the best home workout equipment that your whole family can use to make this time of day something to look forward to!

Yoga Mat

We adore the yoga mat. It is affordable, versatile, and can be used at any age. Yes, any age. While you might look at this mat as a place to go and gain some time in self-introspection and self-compassion, you can use this piece of equipment for more than just yoga and mindfulness—yoga, pilates, pushups, squats, planks, and more can all be done here. Plus, it is a piece that says, “your workout is here.” So, if you have a little one who wants to crawl over to your space, you could make it a game for them to stay on their mat or try some balancing without having their toes hit the floor beside it. There are plenty of yoga poses that your whole family will enjoy, too.

Jump Rope

Jump ropes are just plain fun. For you, for us, and your little ones. Plus, they are quite the calorie-blaster. According to Calories Burned HQ, jumping rope can burn a whopping 15-20 calories per minute. Yeah, we are sweating too. And your family, from 1st-grade on, can join in on the fun. You can switch it up by doing a normal jump, skipping, double-jumping, and a ton of other fun family workout routines. It will never get boring (or too easy). Did we mention you can take your rope anywhere?

Trampoline

Staying on the jump train. A trampoline is a fun way to stay active with the entire family. It’s funny to think that lots of our favorite childhood pastimes can follow us our whole lives and become some of our best workouts. So, as your kid is jumping and bouncing on the trampoline, you can work on toning your body through circuit training. Like a jump rope, there are tons of options to enjoy, and these workouts are incredibly fun to do! We think a trampoline is a wonderful piece of home workout equipment for kids, teens, and beyond.

Bodyweight

Running, hiking, walking, pushups, squats, burpees, oh my! All of these things have one thing in common, and that is they only take y-o-u. So, as you think about your whole family’s health, why not opt for something with no-equipment needed? We have an extensive collection of bodyweight workouts on our blog and on iChuze Fitness that can help you create a healthy, active time with your whole family.

iChuze Fitness

Not only does iChuze have bodyweight workouts, though, if you need to meditate, spend some time alone, or train with equipment you already have, we are here for you! Moms, dads, kiddos, and beyond all love our energetic instructors and easy-to-follow workout videos. You can dance, lift, stretch, or meditate all with a click, click, click. Grab a free 7-day trial here and see what iChuze Fitness has to offer!

If you are looking for a gym that treats your family like family, check out all our locations. Some locations have a Kids Club where you can drop your child off with our team and go workout knowing that your kid is learning and growing while you do. We also have tons of amenities where you can enjoy bodyweight workouts, lifting, and more—or just spend a little quiet time in the sauna. Whatever you need, we are here for you.

The post At-Home Workout Equipment For The Whole Family appeared first on Chuze Fitness.

Kids Club News: January 2021

Fri, 01 Jan 2021 18:00:05 GMT

Hello Kids Club Families!

Our January newsletter is all about celebrating with your family. We have included some fun crafts to celebrate a different holiday everyday this month!

We would love to see how your family celebrates this month. Share your fun with us on Instagram #ChuzeFamily.

With all of our love,
The Chuze Fitness Kids Club Team

If your local Kids Club remains closed, not to worry! You won’t be charged Kids Club dues until we’re up and running again.

January Craft Calendar

Family Workouts

Use your imagination and the space you have to have some fun with movement as a family.

Walk like a crab

Waddle like duck

Hop like a bunny

Leap like a frog

Stomp like an elephant

Crawl like a tiger

Walk like a Gorilla

Jump like a starfish

Slither like a snake

Fly like an owl

Don’t forget to check out our Free Family Workouts at Chuze On Demand!

Snack Time!

Fairy Bread

What You Need

8 slices white bread
1/4 cup butter (softened)
1/4 cup multicolored sprinkles

Preparation

Gather the ingredients.
Lightly butter one side of each slice of bread.
Coat the entire buttered side of each slice with sprinkles.
Enjoy!

The Hulk Chuze Blends Smoothie

National Green Juice day is January 26th. Celebrate with us from home as a family with this Chuze Blends original recipe!

What You Need

6-8 oz Almond Milk (Or other favorite milk)
½ Banana
5 pieces of pineapple
small handful of spinach and or Kale
¼ avocado
squeeze of lemon Juice
ice
Blender

Preparation

Gather all the ingredients
Place all the ingredients in a blender
Add a handful of ice
Blend until nice and smooth.
Enjoy!

Family Jokes

Q: Why didn’t the duck pay for the lip balm?

A: He wanted to put it on his bill.

Q: What do bumblebees chew?

A: Bumble Gum.

Knock, Knock…

Who’s there?

Tank.

Tank Who?

You’re welcome.

Family Fun At Home Ideas

Hide-n-seek in the dark with glow sticks or flashlights.
Make your own pizza night
Family Fort with your favorite books. We love to turn Family fort night into an indoor camping adventure!
Family Workout: Join us on January 6th at 6pm PST for a live-streamed Family Workout with Chuze’s very own Group X instructor, Xanny, and her family on iChuze Fitness! Sign-up for a FREE 7-day trial to join Xanny’s live-streamed workout and get access to tons of additional workouts, meditations, self-care videos and more!
Lego Challenge. Build different scenes within a given time frame.
Play a card game. Pull out the deck of cards and you have so many options.
Have a themed dinner night. We love the polka dot theme for Friday, January 22nd.
Have a Dance Party! The Kids Club team loves to Dance! Check out our Chuze Happiness Playlist on Spotify!
Self-Care for the family! Have a spa day at home!
Recycled Crafts: rummaging through your recycling and getting out the craft supplies and seeing who can come up with the best upcycled craft!

Family Fun Outdoors

Find a new trail and enjoy a hike as a family.
Neighborhood clean up. Enjoy a family walk around your neighborhood and bring an empty garbage bag and the entire family can get involved with the clean up.
Draw with chalk on the sidewalk. We love fun pictures for our neighbors to enjoy on their walks!
Build a snowman (if you live in Colorado). Maybe a sandcastle for our California families!
Fly a kite!
Take a Nature Walk. Make a list of the things you want your children to find and head out to explore!
Cloud/star Gazing. Lay on a blanket outside and try to figure out what shapes the stars or clouds make.
Go Geocaching!
Have a Hula Hoop Contest
Set up a relay race or obstacle course outside.

The post Kids Club News: January 2021 appeared first on Chuze Fitness.

What is Foundation Training in Fitness?

Thu, 31 Dec 2020 18:00:41 GMT

What is Foundation Training in Fitness?

The human body was designed to move, run, walk, squat, lift, push, and jump. To survive, we had to have the strength and mobility to perform our daily functions. That is to say—we had to have a foundation for building the skills required to live.

But now, we don’t need to be fit to survive. Over the last few hundred years, we’ve created a new way of life for ourselves, one revolving around enterprise, productivity, and the power of the mind. This incredible world we have built has a significant downside. We tend to neglect our physical bodies because our minds are so much more powerful now that we’ve automated and outsourced the activities we used to perform for survival.

As a result, our bodies are suffering. We have aches and pains, and we injure quite easily. We’ve accidentally overlooked some muscles in favor of others. Many have been forgotten entirely.

While this sounds a little sad to hear, there is always a silver lining: we can train our bodies to support those daily functions that we have stopped focusing on!

There are many ways to strengthen your body to get it running at an optimal level, and in this article, we’re going to focus specifically on foundation fitness training. What is it? Where did it come from? Who is it for?

Keep reading to find out.

What is Foundation Training?

Foundation training is a style of exercise created in 2007 by Eric Goodman, a chiropractor in training looking for a solution to his back problems. He set out to find an antidote for the pains of modern life, especially sitting in front of the computer or cell phone while our backs grow weaker by the day.

Specifically, Foundation training emphasizes the posterior chain: the muscles up the backs of our legs and around our spine. We used to have to use these muscles all the time, but now that we’re more stationary in our day-to-day activities, these muscles have suffered the most.

This group’s primary muscles are glutes, calves, hamstrings, latissimus dorsi, and erector spinae. Developing this group of muscles is absolutely essential if you want to move smoothly and without injury.

Foundation training does an amazing job of emphasizing concentric, eccentric, and isometric exercise. This means that it emphasizes movements that contract your muscles, movements that lengthen your muscles, and movements that you hold to strengthen those muscles. Utilizing a combination of these movements add to not only strength but also mobility and overall function.

Who is it for?

One of the most amazing aspects of foundation training and foundation movement is that it can help absolutely anyone.

When it comes to athlete performance, foundation strength training can provide muscle efficiency, longevity to keep you in the game, and a new path to recovering from injuries. For those who are just looking to feel a little better in their day-to-day lives, foundation training can simply be a way to approach any activity with less pain.

How do I do it?

Fortunately for those who love incorporating at-home workouts into our routines, foundation training is all about bodyweight.

At the root of foundation training is a hinging motion. After all, being able to bend over and grab things is one of the most essential human movements. We’re made to pick up food, firewood, babies—you name it—so starting here makes perfect sense. This is where a lot of the movement will come from, which might be difficult at first but will make more and more sense to your body over time.

12-Minute Foundation Training

Fortunately, this type of exercise was made famous by the 12-minute foundation training video, which was a quick workout developed for Lance Armstrong to support his body after the end of his cycling career, which was imbalanced because of the nature of cycling. The video is still available online for you to follow along.

In case you’re curious about what to expect, the key position of foundation training has your weight in your heels, your chest up, hips back, knees bent, and arms out in front of you. If you’re already a yoga enthusiast, this looks a little bit like a chair pose—the major movements of foundation training stem from there.

Foundation strength training is a fantastic opportunity for us to take our performance to the next level. It’s a step into fitness for those looking for a place to start, a recovery method for those that need some extra support, and an excellent supplement for the fitness buffs out there who hope to protect themselves from future injury.

There is a space for everyone in functional fitness training, so give the video a watch, consider giving these exercises a try (and give it at least two weeks of practice while these muscles build before you decide whether or not you like it), and enjoy a new opportunity to support your body! You can try a functional training workout at any of our locations. Stop in and take a tour today!

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5 Yoga Poses For Kids That You Can Do As A Family

Mon, 28 Dec 2020 18:00:48 GMT

5 Yoga Poses For Kids That You Can Do As A Family

Yoga is good for you and your whole family. Yep, you read that right. While you might use yoga as a time to get away and reconnect with yourself, sometimes you might need to (or want to) incorporate your entire family into your practice. Yoga for kids is a fantastic practice—it can improve cognition, sleep, and more! We put together a few of our favorite poses that are perfect for the whole family and fun ways to use your imagination in the stretches. Here are five yoga poses for the entire family.

Yoga Poses For Kids

1 | Mountain Pose

The mountain pose (or Tadasana) is a great way to start your yoga practice. It is a time in yoga to bring awareness to your body, focus on what feels tight, what needs work, and see where you feel stronger overall. It also helps with posture and avoiding flat feet. We love this as the first of our easy yoga poses for kids because they can imagine themselves up on a mountain as a hiker or explorer to begin their routine.

How to do a mountain pose:

Stand with your big toes touching and heels slightly apart.
Spread your toes wide (Who in your fam can spread their toes the widest?) and stand tall—but don’t lock your knees.
Adjust your posture so that you are standing straight up. It should feel like you are standing tall with power in your legs.
Pull your shoulder blades down and together, and with your palms facing forward, lift your hands out beside you slightly.
When you are in position, close your eyes and take five deep breaths. While doing so, ask your family to take five deep breaths on top of the mountain and remember what they see and smell. Afterward, you can ask them about their mountain to keep them engaged in the yoga routine for families.

What mountains did your family imagine? Who was on a snowy peak and who was in the desert? What did they smell?

2 | Tree Pose

Now it’s time to pretend to be a tree. For us yoga lovers, this is a fun pose. It asks us to test our balance and has caused many of us to wiggle and fall. With your family, you can see who can balance the longest, but the trick is to do the tree pose with proper form. Before we get into that, though, the tree pose is beneficial in balance, stretches your inner thighs, and strengthens your core and legs.

How to do the tree pose:

Start in a normal standing position. With one foot anchored to the floor, bring the other up to rest on your thigh. Be sure to avoid having your foot rest on the side of your knee, it should rest above it on your thigh, and your knee should be strong but not locked.
Press your foot against your thigh while trying to keep balance.
Either have your arms stretched up in a Y like a tree or out in front of you in a prayer-like pose.
Try to keep your balance for five deep breaths with your hips squared (straight in front of you).
Lower your foot down and switch sides.

Who in your family had the best balance? Were either of your sides stronger than the other?

3 | Puppy Pose

This feel-good pose is going to be an excellent stretch for your shoulders, chest, arms, and down your back. It is perfect for those who work in a sitting position and need to give a little extra love to the back of our body. And during family yoga, our kiddos can get in on the pose, too, because it is easy to picture an adorable puppy stretching, and this pose mimics just that. Do you have a pup at home? Ask your kid to mimic your fur family in this pose.

How to do the puppy pose:

Start on all fours with the bottom of your feet facing the wall (not the ceiling) and your toes curled under, facing inward.
Now, stretch your arms forward with your fingers wide (who in your family can stretch their fingers the widest?) and slowly drop your head and chest toward the mat.
Take 5-10 long deep breaths in puppy pose and come back up.

4 | Boat Pose

This intermediate pose is an excellent way to shift from the more relaxing poses in the previous movements. Boat pose asks you to engage your core and defy gravity with your feet and head. You can feel this pose in your entire core, and it can be challenging, but have fun with it. Ask your family to pretend they are a ship that has to stay floating above the water. To do so, they need their feet and head to be balanced.

How to do the boat pose:

Start by sitting on your mat with your feet out in front of you.
Bend your knees and place your feet flat on the floor.
Straighten your legs. You should look like a V. If your back starts to arch, keep your knees bent. It is more important to maintain good posture in your back than to straighten your legs.
With your head and back straight, try to lift your arms straight out in front of you with your palms up.
Hold for five deep breaths.

Who had the most sturdy boat in your family? Did anyone hit some rough waters (trembling and falling)? That’s A-ok! It is all part of becoming a stronger boat over-all.

5 | Corpse Pose

Now that your family has gone through a full routine together, it is time for everyone’s favorite pose—the corpse pose (savasana). This is a relaxation pose, as you may know if you’ve accidentally fallen asleep after a yoga class (we’ve all been there tbh). However, you should try to stay aware during this pose, seeing where you feel more balanced than when you started. Remember in mountain pose when you were trying to focus on what feels tense? Does it feel different now? Is there anywhere that you want to focus more on the next time your practice? For this pose, have your family be as quiet as possible, laying flat either with their hands resting beside them or over their chest like a mummy.

How to do the corpse pose:

Lay down, face-up on your mat with your hands out beside you or laying across your chest—whatever is more comfortable for you.
Release your muscles from tension, relax your jaw, relax your shoulders, remove your tongue from the roof of your mouth.
Take deep, filling breaths.
Stay here as long as you would like.

If you would like to try more family yoga poses, you can check out our robust yoga library on iChuze Fitness. You can try it out for free for seven whole days! Plus, you will be able to find self-care and meditation videos, workouts, and more. You can also practice yoga at all of our locations. Stop in and see the Chuze Difference!

The post 5 Yoga Poses For Kids That You Can Do As A Family appeared first on Chuze Fitness.

5 Functional Training Workouts to Try Today

Thu, 24 Dec 2020 18:00:12 GMT

5 Functional Training Workouts

We have discussed how important functional fitness training is and what it can do to improve your health on our blog. To recap, functional strength training is a form of resistance training based on dynamic movements that we actually use in our day-to-day activities.

Not to be confused with the traditional strength training of bodybuilders that focus on muscles and aesthetics, functional strength training is about working harder in the gym so you can afford to work less hard carrying your groceries from your car to your kitchen.

Functional training exercises are all about supporting your body to perform all of the things you want to use it for. Without further ado, here are five functional training exercises to create an entire functional training workout that you can use to get started.

1 | The Power Clean

This is a big, bold move, which is why we want to get it out of the way at the beginning of any round of exercise.

The power clean is traditionally done with a barbell (which we’ll focus on for this tutorial). Still, it can be adapted to dumbbells or even kettlebells, depending on what is available to you.

Now, the first time you do a power clean, you should use an extremely light weight(s). If you have access to the gym, we even encourage you to ask a Coach to take a look at your form while getting started.

When you begin this movement, you should be bending down with your feet hip-width apart. The bar should be about an inch away from your shins. Grab the bar on the floor with your hands shoulder-width apart in an overhand grip.

Put your weight in your heels, keep your chest up, and tighten your core. Pull your shoulder blades together throughout the exercise; don’t let your posture break.

Next, you’re going to pull the bar up to knee-height, maintaining that posture. Keep your lower back very slightly arched, and make sure you’re lifting with all of those strong core and leg muscles (not with the muscles in the back). Don’t move too quickly just yet. The next part is where the movement explodes.

Once you’ve reached knee height, you’re going to physically jump as high as you can (don’t worry, while holding a weight, this will probably only be an inch or two) while shrugging your shoulders and bending your elbows to bring the bar up through space in a vertical line. Like the initial lift, make sure you’re using your core, glutes, hamstrings, quads, and calves (and NOT your back!).

When the bar has moved as high in space as it will go, you’re going to bend your knees just enough to scoop the bar onto the shelf of your shoulders by shooting your elbows forward. The bottoms of your arms should end up parallel to the floor (or as close as you can get). Stand up tall from that slightly bent position you entered to catch the bar.

Roll the bar down off your shoulders, carefully catch it in a standing position, and move it back to the floor to go again. This should be one big fluid motion.

A lot is going on here, and you can find great breakdowns of the form online to make sure you’re moving correctly.

2 | The Classic Pull-Up

When it comes to functional fitness training, the pull-up is an absolute classic and is guaranteed to create a stronger foundation for performing your daily activities (both inside and outside the gym). Having a strong back is vital to maintaining posture and moving through the world with ease.

To do a pull-up, hang from a bar with your arms a little wider than shoulder-width. Drive your elbows down and back until your chin reaches the bar and lower back down with control. Wash, rinse, and repeat.

If a full pull-up is not available to you right now, hooking a resistance band to the bar and stepping your feet into it can provide support.

If you don’t have resistance bands, a great place to start is with the eccentric movement of the pull-up: lowering down. Put a chair next to the bar and use it to jump up into the top of the pull-up position with your chin at the top of the bar. From there, all you need to do is lower down to a hanging position. After enough of these, you’ll be able to move into the concentric movement of pulling up.

3 | A Twisting Lunge

The twisting lunge is an excellent dynamic exercise that both engages a lot of different muscle groups and forces you to work on your sense of balance. You can do this with your bodyweight or holding any type of weight, so start light and build from there.

The first move is–surprise–a lunge. Take a medium-large step forward and bend your knees until they’re both at about 90 degrees. Make sure your front knee doesn’t go past your front toes.

At the bottom of your lunge, twist in the direction of your front leg. Twist back to center, step up so that your feet are together, and repeat on the other leg.

4 | The Renegade Row

This move is amazing for your entire body and forces you to find both balance and strength. It can be done with weights but can easily be done with just your bodyweight to begin. For this example, let’s pretend you have some light dumbbells.

Get into a push-up position with the dumbbells in your hands. Just like you would in a regular push up position, engage your core to keep your back flat without letting your hips dip or rise. Pull your shoulder blades together without letting your chest sink.

Next, bend one arm and pull the weight up toward your armpit without bending your wrists. Set the weight down and repeat on the other side.

5 | The Basic Kettlebell Swing

We’ll end with a basic functional movement—the kettlebell swing (you can also accomplish these with a regular dumbbell).

With your legs a little wider than hip-distance apart, hinge forward with the kettlebell in your hands. Maintain a soft bend in the knees and a flat back (we know you know, but we’ll remind you that you need to use your core and legs and not your back to perform any hinging motion).

Using your glutes, calves, quads, hamstrings, and core, thrust your hips forward and allow the kettlebell to swing up to 90 degrees. At the top of the swing, you should be in a standing plank position: flat back, core engaged, arms straight out.

Finally, guide the kettlebell back down to that hinging position and repeat the movement.

Combined, these five movements will create a functional training program to get your body heading in a stronger, more-mobile direction, so start with 5 of each (and five on each side with the movements that work one side at a time) 5 times, and build your strong, functional body from there! You can try this circuit at any of our locations. If you are looking for an instructor-guided circuit that you can try at home, we have plenty to choose from on our virtual fitness platform iChuze Fitness.

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What is Functional Fitness Strength Training?

Mon, 21 Dec 2020 19:09:47 GMT

What is Functional Fitness Strength Training?

The term “strength training” is a little loaded. A lot of us hear that and think of Olympic weightlifters screaming as they strain to lift hundreds of pounds and drop them on the floor; of bodybuilders flexing onstage; of power and force and an almost inhuman ability to move weight. These associations can make strength training feel inaccessible to some, which is a huge problem because that’s not all strength training can be.

Strength training has many benefits, but one of them that a lot of beginners might not recognize is the potential for protecting the body and supporting movement outside the gym. Functional exercise strength training is actually just a type of strength training that focuses on helping your body move rather than moving as much weight as you can.

When we strengthen our muscles correctly, they’re able to support our bones and joints so that we can move through our daily lives with more ease. That’s where functional strength training exercises really shine: it takes a more holistic approach to strength as it relates to our bodies than traditional forms of muscle strength training like powerlifting.

To dig in, let’s break this down into its parts: functional movement and strength training.

What is Functional Training?

The dictionary definition of functional is, “of or having a special activity, purpose, or task; relating to the way in which something works or operates.”

That effectively means that if we’re doing something with functionality in mind, its purpose is to improve the ease with which we perform that action. Functional strength training actually goes far beyond strength. It emphasizes mobility, balance, agility, and your ability to move through space in whatever way you need without any pushback from your body.

Whether you need to hinge, twist, or reach, the functional aspect of this form of training has the potential to significantly improve not just your fitness but also your quality of life. Of course, we want to improve our gym performance, but this is about taking that performance beyond the gym’s walls.

What is Strength Training?

Strength training is the act of doing exercises that make us, well, stronger. It’s as simple as that. Strength training doesn’t necessarily have to be about pushing your body to extremes, but rather making incremental improvements to your ability to move increasingly heavy objects.

When functionality and strength come together, we get stronger using exercises that serve a function, thereby strengthening our bodies as they go about their daily activities. And on top of making it easier for you to perform the tasks that get you through the day, functional strength training is a method of preventing future injuries from occurring, both inside and outside of the gym. When our muscles are strong and our tendons and ligaments protected, we’re less likely to get hurt.

What are the Benefits of Functional Strength Training?

The beauty of functional strength training is that it allows you to reap all of the benefits of functional training and the benefits of strength training. Some of those benefits include:

Improving body mechanics
Building strength
Supporting mobility
Slowing down muscle atrophy (aka sarcopenia)
Improving balance and coordination
Preventing injuries
Helping with chronic disease management
Weight loss
Releasing endorphins in the brain (making you happier)
Strengthening bones
Improving cardiovascular health

How do I Start Functional Strength Training?

The key to functional strength training is implementing dynamic movements with resistance that can help us take on our actions every day. Whether you’re pulling groceries out of your car, lifting a wriggling toddler into a car seat, or walking up the stairs in your house, functional strength training can help you establish a strong base from which to move in all the ways that make you—you.

When we talk about dynamic movement, we have to utilize those exercises which translate to daily life—these may include pushing, pulling, jumping, stepping, balancing, and more. Keep in mind that it’s important when performing functional strength exercises to move in three dimensions: front-back, side-side, and rotational.

When we talk about these functional movements with resistance, we have to ask ourselves: Does this action require me to effectively work against a force? How could this movement translate to my mobility needs? Is it an opportunity for me to resist weight—be it gravity or a barbell?

The types of exercises you are going to look for in functional strength training will use a lot of your body at once, like squats, pull-ups, twisting motions, and more.

Consider functional strength training a form of preventative physical therapy (which is actually where functional strength training comes from). While getting started in this journey may not be easy for everyone, it’s vital for people of all ages. Even the ability to stand up from a chair is based on functional strength training, and you can get started to protect your body and your future today. You can work on functional strength training in any of our clubs and with our virtual workouts on iChuze Fitness. We can’t wait to welcome you to the Chuze Family.

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What Is Self-Love? 4 Ways You Can Start Practicing Today

Mon, 14 Dec 2020 18:00:46 GMT

What Is Self-Love? 4 Ways You Can Start Practicing Today

Self-love. Wow. Sometimes that can feel like a strange concept, huh? It is an integral part of our wellness and how we show our light to the world each day. Without getting too sentimental right out of the gate (We want to keep you around, after all.), you are worth loving. So, let’s start this article off with something that may seem a little cheesy. Either say the following out loud or, if you are in public and don’t feel comfortable, write it in your notes.

“I love myself.”

It may feel a little strange coming out of your mouth or keyboard, but the more you say it, the more it makes sense and starts to feel authentic. But, what is this self-love stuff we see everywhere? Let’s get into that now.

What Is Self-Love?

Like self-acceptance, self-love is about looking inward, recognizing your flaws, and loving yourself through them. Think about someone or something you love unconditionally. It might be your child, partner, parent, pet, etc. We are going to use a dog as an example—because puppies. But, if we are honest, puppies can be pretty annoying. They bark at the very nice mail person, jump at other dogs on daily walks, have accidents in the house, and rip up their toys into little tiny bits only after you’ve just swept (just us?). But, even though they can frustrate you, you still go over and squeeze their cheeks, tell them you love them, and pet their bellies when they roll over and not-so-subtly request it. That is true love. And, that is how you should treat yourself too.

Learning self-love is difficult. You will mess up. You will have flaws. Probably many of them. You will get knocked down and feel absolutely defeated. When you practice self-love, though, you can show yourself compassion in those moments. Ask for help, forgive yourself, start over, eat for fuel, prioritize sleep, and give yourself what your body asks for.

How To Practice Self-Love

It’s not such a simple process, though. To practice self-love truly means you have to put in the time. Practice. Many of us make a mistake in ‘practicing’ meditation or ‘practicing’ yoga because we think trying it a few times when we are feeling good constitutes practice. But, when you are in sports as a child, you don’t just show up to the baseball game. You spend weeks and months fielding grounders, hitting the ball, running the bases, etc. to equip you for the game. Likewise, saying, “I love you” one time out loud might not prepare you to love yourself the next time you are down. But, practicing and repeating that daily, trying loving-kindness meditation, and the like will get you ready for game time—when maybe you don’t feel so lovable.

Simple Ways To Practice Self-Love Daily

1 | Establish your non-negotiables

One way to practice self-love is to establish your non-negotiables. We recommend getting out a sheet of paper and writing this down. Your non-negotiables are a list of things that you can say no or yes to in the name of self-care. An example list might be:

I never work on Saturdays.
I always put my phone on ‘Do not disturb’ when I sleep.
I always make time for meditation when I wake up.
A good cup of coffee is the only way to start my day.
I never miss my Facetime dates with my grandpa.

By establishing these, you are giving yourself ground rules to love yourself in the way that you need it. And, writing them out helps to solidify these wants and needs.

2 | Pick Up A Gratitude Journal

One way to train your brain to think of positive outcomes and the goodness within you is to write in a daily gratitude journal. Each journal is different, but for the most part, they ask you a few essential questions to help you set intentions for your day and then reflect later on the ‘wins’ or positive things that happened. By reflecting and recounting your wins of the day, you start to see positivity in the good and challenging days. Even when things seem to be falling around you, your wins are still monumental. Some days your wins might look like running 8 miles, finishing a big project, and meeting up with friends, and others they might look like making your bed, washing your face, and allowing yourself to rest. Each win is beautiful.

3 | Allow Yourself To Rest

You know. We live in a world where we are always on. Not too long ago, work ended when we clocked out, and people could only contact us when we were at home near a phone. With the onset of smart devices and always-on emails and social media, it is even more important to prioritize rest. Just as you must rest to become physically stronger, it is important for mental health as well. So, pick a day or hour to rest. No phone, no email, just a pause in your busy life.

4 | Create A Self-Care Routine

We know that self-care looks different for everyone. That is why we create resources to help you figure out your perfect routine on our website. Whether you like to follow a pre-made one-hour self-care routine, see self-care ideas, or dive into self-care science to create your routine—we have advice for you.

We founded Chuze Fitness with the idea that kindness spreads, and that starts with being kind to yourself. Stop by any of our locations to see the Chuze difference. Or, check out our virtual wellness platform iChuze Fitness, which not only places importance on your physical health but has Heart and Mind sections to help you focus on self-care and showing kindness to others. Get started with a free 7-day trial here.

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How To Stop Comparing Yourself To Others

Thu, 10 Dec 2020 18:00:49 GMT

How To Stop Comparing Yourself To Others: Our Best Tips

We’ve all had those moments, you are sitting on the couch, chip crumbs laying a track across your sweater, and you open your phone to see your friends out picking berries, completing a race, or, even worse, swimming in crystal clear waters on some beautiful vacation.

Panic sets in.

What am I doing sitting here with empty Ruffles bags while Lisa is in Tahiti!?

You immediately decide that you too will have a picture-perfect vacation somewhere, pick berries, and make your own pie with them, and it all starts… NOW!

But we are here to tell you to stop. Constant self-comparison is not healthy. Our friends who are out enjoying their beautiful vacation may have been in a potato chip, Netflix-watching cave last week. But, even if they weren’t, you are you, and that is something to celebrate.

FOMO And Social Comparison: The Science of It All

Research shows that social media, in particular, causes us to have unrealistic expectations for our looks, weight, lifestyle, and more and can even give us a real fear of missing out (FOMO), which has similar effects as physical pain on our brains. None of this is healthy for us, and it is impacting younger generations more and more.

Comparison is the thief of joy. -Theodore Roosevelt

We have known that comparing ourselves to others isn’t a step on the path to happiness for years. Even before social media, there were sneakers and lifestyles to be jealous of, and our ancestors experienced social comparison as well. But, happy people don’t need to feel better than others. So how do you stop, or at least put habits in place to help you compare yourself less?

How To Stop Comparing Yourself To Others

1 | Notice How You Feel

We love this tip in Psychology Today by Susan Biali Haas, M.D.—she talks about bringing awareness to the situations that make you fall into the comparison trap. Do Lisa’s posts always make you feel less-than? Does watching Reality TV make you wonder why you don’t live in a mansion on a hill? Make a list of the things that make you feel bad, and then take steps to avoid or work through them. The article by Susan states, “Avoid comparison triggers if you can, especially if the activity or contact doesn’t add meaning or any real value to your life.”

2 | Work On Self-Acceptance

We can worry all we want about how we compare to others or start to actively love ourselves. Unconditional self-acceptance asks us to gain awareness of our strengths and weaknesses and accept them as they are. Happiness is more than just a feeling. We can actively practice it—one of the most potent ways to do that is through self-acceptance.

3 | Catch Your Negative Self-Talk

We get it. Many of us use self-deprecation to relate to or add a little comedy to a situation. But, negative self-talk is not good. It can manifest itself as something we say out loud or even the thoughts that go on in our heads. Just as positive self-talk can help us have a more positive outlook overall, negative self-talk can do the opposite. This can snowball into damaged relationships, depression, bad moods, and more. Note when you are feeling self-critical and try to change the thought. If you try to go for a run, for example, a few mins in, you might think, “This is so hard, I am a bad runner!” the best you may be able to do at that moment is just to notice that you were negative to yourself. But, if you can, you can also say, “I am building stronger cardiovascular health.” Switch a negative to a positive enough times, and it might just become a habit.

4 | Practice Mindfulness

Meditation is a beautiful practice for a multitude of reasons. One of those is that it asks you to note the positive attributes you bring into the world. Often, when we get into a negative headspace, it can be hard to consider the good in us. When your run is going terribly, it can be hard to think about what a creative artist you are, for instance. But, being intentional about mindfulness meditation can change that for you. One study looked into patients with Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) and found that two months of meditation training helped improve their self-esteem.

5 | Define What Happiness Means To You

This may be the most important step of all. If you take a moment today to sit down and consider what true happiness looks like to you, you may notice that those things that bring up envy within you, those things you compare yourself to, aren’t even the things that you want in life. This is a great self-compassion exercise. Maybe you dream of becoming a teacher at a local school, and happiness looks like talking to a classroom of kids each day and then coming home to kick your feet up. Those reality TV comparisons of mega-mansions might not have as much weight after you write that down. When you sit down and define happiness for yourself, you won’t need to look to others for what that looks like.

You can work on feeling the benefits of self-acceptance and stop comparing yourself to others with our virtual wellness platform, iChuze Fitness. In the Mind section, you can find meditations, self-care tips, and more to get you in the right mindset to take on your day. Download a free 7-day pass today. Or, come on into any of our locations to experience the Chuze difference in person.

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What Is Flexibility Exercise?

Mon, 07 Dec 2020 18:00:21 GMT

What Is Flexibility Exercise?

If there was a way to reduce the impact of your workout on your muscle groups, lower the chances of future injury, and create a body that will keep moving farther into old age, would you do it?

Fortunately, there’s an easy route to achieving all of this and a healthier you: flexibility exercise.

What Is Flexibility Exercise?

Flexibility exercise is just another word for stretching.

To put it simply, it’s the group of exercises in which muscles or tendons are deliberately flexed or stretched to create more elasticity. The more elasticity in our muscles and tendons, the easier it is to move around.

According to Heart.org, flexibility exercises are an integral part of a well-rounded fitness routine. Adding intentional flexibility exercise to your endurance, strength and balance routines will ensure that you are working each part of your body.

What Are The Benefits Of Flexibility Exercises?

As we touched on before, flexibility exercise has a wide range of benefits. Here are a few more to get you thinking about the possibilities of incorporating stretching into your fitness routine:

It increases the range of motion.

Having a greater range of motion is a benefit in any area of life. Whether chasing a toddler around the park or trying to train your muscles to their fullest capacity, having the ability to move your body as far as possible can go a long way.

It prevents pain.

Having tight muscles can have adverse effects on all parts of the body, especially the back. If the muscles surrounding your spine, for example, are tense, they can worsen a whole score of back issues. Stretching your entire body will help relieve some of that tension and provide a reduction in pain.

It prevents injury.

When you’re performing any activity—be it lifting heavy at the gym or walking up some stairs—you are putting stress on your muscles and tendons. When our muscles and tendons are “cold” and tense, they’re more prone to pull or even tear. When we stretch, muscles and tendons “warm up” and can move farther without causing injury.

It supports movement.

Flexibility exercises support movement. Flexibility allows you to move through the world more comfortably by improving muscle coordination, balance, and range of motion.

It improves circulation.

Regular stretching gets your blood moving! This means a wave of oxygen and nutrients are delivered to your muscles and organs when you do flexibility exercises. This allows your whole body to function at a higher level of performance.

It supports posture.

Part of what makes poor posture is tight muscles (aka connective tissue). Tightness in the chest, back, and hips can cause you to hunch forward and exacerbate back issues. Loosening those muscles will allow for your back to find a more-comfortable, straighter posture.

It feels good.

Performing flexibility exercises engages your parasympathetic nervous system, which is associated with resting and digesting. Stretching exercise is also thought to release endorphins, which make you feel good naturally. Basically, having a stretching routine can be a relaxing expression of self-care that can boost any daily routine and improve overall bodily function.

Don’t forget to stretch before and after each workout, and create a dynamic stretching routine. These small changes can make a huge difference in your flexibility overall. To avoid injury and work at your absolute best, it is essential to prioritize your flexibility, stretching, and balance. Not only will it benefit you today, but well into your golden years.

There are a myriad of exercises to improve flexibility – from bending down to touch your toes to following an entire yoga flow routine. Now that you understand what flexibility strength training is and why it’s essential to find a stretching routine that feels right to you—do your body a favor by moving!

You can find flexibility exercises like yoga and other dynamic stretches on iChuze Fitness, our virtual fitness platform. Grab your free 7-day pass to access this 10-minute standing stretch by Nina, who will take you through an oh-so-good flexibility routine. You can also practice flexibility exercises in all of our locations. Stop in, say hello, and get to flexin’!

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Kids Club News: December 2020

Thu, 03 Dec 2020 23:25:15 GMT

Hello Kids Club Families!

Our December newsletter is all about the Antarctic. We have included some fun Arctic activities for your family. We would love to see how you and your children are enjoying these activities. Share your fun with us on Instagram #ChuzeFamily.

With all of our love,
The Chuze Fitness Kids Club Team

While Kids Club remains closed until further notice, you will not be billed for Kids Club dues.

December Craft Calendar

Snack Time: Snowman Smoothies

What You Need

Frozen Banana
1 Cup milk of your choice
¼ Cup greek yogurt (plain or vanilla)
¼ Cup oats
¼ cup shredded coconut
¼ teaspoon Vanilla extract
½ tablespoon Honey or maple syrup to taste
Whip cream
Winter sprinkles (optional)
Clear plastic cups or a glasses
Black and orange markers

Preparation

Prepare the smoothie cup by drawing a snowman onto your clear plastic cup or glass using the black and orange markers
Add frozen banana, milk, yogurt, oats, shredded coconut, vanilla extract, honey or maple syrup to a blender and blend until smooth
Pour the smoothie into your snowman cup
Add whip cream to the top
Add winter sprinkles onto the whip cream
Enjoy!

Arctic Videos

Winter At The North Pole

Animals Of The North Pole

The Arctic vs the Antarctic

Winter Jokes

Q: How do mountains stay warm in the winter?

A: They wear snow caps!

Q: What do you call a snowman with a six pack?

A: The abdominal snowman!

Q: What do they eat for breakfast at the North Pole?

A: Snowflakes!

Let’s Make Fake Snow!

What You Need

Large bowl
1LB baking soda
11 oz can foam shaving cream
Essential oil (optional)
Glitter (optional)

Instructions

Add the baking soda into the large bowl
Spray about half of the can of shaving cream into the bowl
Using your hands knead the snow and you should see the snow start to form right away
Add more shaving cream as needed (you may need to use the whole can)
Add a few drops of essential oil to add a nice fragrance (optional)
Add as much glitter as you would like to add a little shine (optional)
HAVE FUN!

Tip: Although this is a very fun activity, it can be a bit messy. Make sure to put down a tablecloth, newspaper, etc. To ensure that the snow doesn’t get all over the place!

Arctic Animal Yoga

Moose (Warrior Pose)

Stand in mountain pose and step one foot back, slightly angling it outward. Ben your front knee and reach your hands to the sky spreading your fingers out like moose antlers.

Walrus (upward-facing dog pose)

Lay down on your stomach, lift up your head and shoulders off the ground. Place your palms flat on the ground and gently lift up to arch your back like a walrus

Narwhal (locust or superman pose)

Lay down on your stomach, gently lift your chest and shoulders creating a soft arch in your back. Lift your arms forward in front of you and put your palms together creating the narwhal’s horn.

Polar Bear (Downward facing dog)

Come onto the floor on your hands and knees. Take a deep breath and lift your knees away from the floor, extending your legs creating a V shape. Walk like a polar bear back and forth across the floor.

Snow Goose (Pigeon Pose)

From polar bear pose, bring your right foot behind your right hand placing your foot slightly inwards. Perch like a snow goose! Switch sides and repeat.

Musk Ox (Cat pose)

Get on all fours with your palms flat on the ground, tuck your chin into your chest and round your back. Walk slow like an ox.

Arctic Fox (Kneeling pose)

Come to kneeling with your arms at your side. Open your chest and reach up with your arms to the moon like a fox.

Arctic Hare (Hero’s pose)

Rest upright on your feels and place your hands on your thighs. Take a few short and quick breaths through your nose, and then take a long exhale.

Snowy Owl (Seated Twist)

From the arctic hare pose, bend your right knee and cross your right leg over and place your foot next to your left thigh. Bend your left knee and position your left ankle next to your right glute. Reach your right arm behind you and raise your left arm upward. Hook your left arm around your bent right knee. Take a deep breath. Repeat on the other side.

Seal (Resting Pose)

Lie on your back with your arms alongside your body and your legs tight together. Pretend that you are a seal resting on a nice rock. Stretch out your arms and legs and rest as long as you like!

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5 Stretching Exercises for Flexibility

Thu, 03 Dec 2020 18:00:12 GMT

5 Stretching Exercises for Flexibility

There are so many incredible ways for us to move our bodies. Stretching is one of the most important tools in our wellness arsenal because it allows us a better range of motion, improved posture, better balance, injury prevention, and more.

And because our bodies have so many working parts, there are infinite combinations of exercises you can do to stretch your body to improve overall fitness and function. We’ve put together five stretching exercises for flexibility beginners, so put on some stretchy clothes, get out a yoga mat or towel to provide a little extra cushion between you and the floor, and follow along!

1. Side Stretch

This is an awesome lengthening exercise for flexibility training, and it’s very simple to do:

Stand up tall and put your arms straight up in the air above your head. Grab your right wrist with your left hand. Inhale while reaching your body as tall as you can and use your left arm to pull your right arm to the left as you exhale, creating an arcing shape with your entire body.

Take a few deep breaths and repeat on the other side. This side-opener should feel amazing from your hips to your waist to your lower back to your shoulders to your wrists.

2. Quad Stretch

Utilizing stretching exercises for your quads is extremely important because tightness in these muscles can cause back and knee pain.

To do a quad stretch, start standing next to a wall for support if you need help balancing. Bending your right knee, grab your right foot or ankle with your right hand behind you. Make sure you tuck your hips under (don’t let your butt stick out) to deepen the stretch. Hold for a few deep breaths and switch sides.

3. Seated Spinal Twist

This move is extremely restorative and contributes to better spinal mobility. It’s a simple way to decompress our vertebrae and relieve pressure in the back.

To do this stretch, sit on the floor with your legs out in front of you. Bend your right knee, bringing it toward your chest with your foot on the ground.

Now, lift your right leg and place your foot down on the outside of your left knee. Next, cross your left arm over the outside of your right knee so that your left elbow is touching the right side of your right thigh.

Take a deep breath as you sit up tall and use the contact between your leg and elbow to twist to the right as you look over your right shoulder and exhale.

Lift again with every inhale and sink deeper into that twist with every exhale. Take a few breaths here without twisting too hard and switch to the other side.

4. Cross-Body Stretch to Tricep Stretch

This is a two-in-one stretch to limber up your arms. You probably remember this move from gym class, but we’ll go over it anyway.

Standing up tall, cross your right arm over your chest so that it’s parallel to the floor. Hook it on the crook of your left elbow. Bend that left elbow in, pulling the right arm toward you. Make sure you’re engaging your back and pulling your shoulder blades together while you do this; don’t let your right shoulder collapse forward. This is the cross-body stretch.

Next, drop that right arm and swing it over your head, so it’s sticking straight up into the air. Now, without changing your arm’s position from your shoulder, bend it from the elbow. Use your left hand to grab that elbow, and pull toward the middle of your back body. This is the tricep stretch.

Now wash, rinse, and repeat on the other side.

5. Child’s Pose

We’re wrapping up with child’s pose because it’s just so relaxing. This full-body stretching exercise for flexibility will feel great for your hips, back, chest, shoulders, ankles, and thighs, and it will allow you to just sink into the earth and breathe.

To get into a child’s pose, start on all fours. Move your knees outward so that they’re a little farther apart than shoulder-width or about the width of a yoga mat if you have one. Make sure your big toes are touching.

Now, put your weight back on your legs so you can bend your torso toward the ground. Use your arms to support the journey down, walking your hands forward as you go. Eventually, your arms should be extended out in front of you, your forehead should be on the floor, hips should be back, and your chest should be melting down (but don’t worry if it isn’t on the floor or even close).

If that feels uncomfortable for your hips or shoulders, feel free to put a pillow or two on the floor for your chest to lean on. If it’s a knee issue, place a pillow in the crook of your knee (between the calves and buttocks).

Take as many deep breaths here as you can. Having a static stretching routine for flexibility like this can be not only helpful but also extremely calming, so take your time here.

Treating your body to the stretching it needs is one of the most helpful forms of self-care you can do. It will improve performance both in and out of the gym and ultimately lead to a healthier you! You can practice stretching for flexibility at any of our locations. We also have fantastic stretching exercises for flexibility on our virtual fitness platform, iChuze Fitness. Download your free 7-day pass today!

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4 Cardiovascular Endurance Exercises You Can Do at Home

Mon, 30 Nov 2020 18:00:11 GMT

4 Cardiovascular Endurance Exercises You Can Do at Home

Cardiovascular endurance, by definition, is “the body’s ability to deliver oxygen to muscles while they are working.” It begins at about 1.5 minutes into a workout when your body starts using things like fat and proteins for energy. Your body can build up better endurance through regular cardiorespiratory endurance exercises. And, today, we want to give you a few of those to try.

1 | Fast Feet To Spiderman Plank

This is a dynamic move because it asks you to go from one power move into another. Fast feet is a straightforward move we use in many bodyweight cardiovascular exercises, and it does an excellent job of bringing your heart rate up and making you s-w-e-a-t.

To do fast feet, stand with your feet about hip-distance apart, bend your knees, and hinge at the hips. Then, press off of your toes—nice and light—and run in place as fast as you can. Do this for 6-seconds and then move into the spiderman plank.

To do a Spiderman plank, drop down into a plank with your arms straight and back flat (don’t stick that butt up!). Then move your same-side knee to your elbow. That means your right knee should be coming up to your right elbow, and visa-versa. Keep your core engaged so that you stay in a proper form for four rounds (one round is one on each side). Then, hop back up and start the move over again at the fast-feet, continuing these moves together for one full minute.

2 | Curtsy Lunge/Reverse Lunge Combo

Second-up is another dynamic move that takes your reverse lunges to the next level.

To do a curtsy lunge, plant your front foot and then step back, landing just outside of your front foot behind you. That can sound a little confusing, so, if you need a visual, do a quick curtsy and see where your back leg lands. Typically, in a curtsy, you will bring your leg behind you and land your toes on your back foot to the outside of the front. This is the same in the curtsy lunge, except you will also be getting down into a reverse lunge. Keep your knee over your toes, and come down until your front knee is at about 90-degrees. Then, go back to start to move into the reverse lunge.

Now for a reverse lunge, simply step backward and lower your hips until your front knee is at 90-degrees. Again, be sure to keep your knee in line with your toes. When you drive back up to start position, keep your core and back engaged. Then, go back into the curtsy. Work on one side for 45 seconds and then switch to the other. Be sure to go slow and controlled going into the back lunge, but you can drive out of it a little quicker into the starting position.

3 | Tricep pushups

Pushups are one of the best exercises for our arms, chests, and core—period. They can also be altered to target specific muscles in the body. The triceps are a little tricky to exercise with bodyweight, but this workout makes it reasonably simple.

To do a tricep pushup, either start on your knees or in the plank position. Then, bring your hands in a little closer together than you would for a regular pushup. In a typical pushup, your wrists would land beneath your shoulders, but for this, we want to see your wrists more underneath your chest. As you go down and push up, be sure to keep your elbows tight to your body. Continue for one full minute.

Pro-tip. You may have started these in the plank position, but these. are. tough. Remember, you can go down onto your knees at any time. This will help relieve you of some of that pressure and help you finish your full minute.

4 | Extended Hip Press

Hip presses work your abs, glutes, and hips. By extending your feet a little further out in front of you, you are going to be working even harder.

To start, get into a normal hip press position. In a typical hip press, you will lay on your back with your feet placed on the ground at about 6-inches from your glutes. Start with your feet there and then walk them out one or two feet and begin to bridge up. You will feel your hamstrings working harder with this adjustment. As you bridge up, make sure to pause at the top, contracting your muscles for a quick squeeze, and then slowly and controlled go back down to start. Continue for 45 seconds.

These workouts are designed to go together in a round. Repeat this three times for a workout, or try them individually and add them into your bodyweight cardiovascular exercise routine. If you loved this workout and want a little more, join Coach Anthony on iChuze Fitness. We grabbed this first round from his Endurance Training 2 | 30 Min exercise video, where he goes through step-by-step talking about form, the muscles being targeted, and much more on our virtual fitness platform. Sign-up for the free 7-day pass to try these engaging cardiovascular endurance training exercises today!

You can try these workouts at home, in any of our locations, or wherever you find yourself today regardless of your physical fitness level. We hope that you come away from this article with a new exercise to love and knowledge on how to increase cardio exercise endurance.

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What Is Endurance Training?

Mon, 23 Nov 2020 18:00:59 GMT

What Is Endurance Training?

There are 4 primary types of exercise: strength, balance, flexibility, and endurance. In order to have a balanced, healthy body, we need to have a fitness routine that incorporates them all.

Here, we’re going to focus on endurance training. Don’t be afraid—while this type of exercise is often associated with marathon runners and triathletes, it really doesn’t have to be as serious as you think.

Endurance training is important not only for high-performance athletes, it’s important for everyone.

So, What Is Endurance Training?

Endurance training is a form of exercising that is done to—you guessed it—increase endurance. Endurance is the ability of any organism to exert itself and maintain that exertion for long periods of time.

Endurance exercises are generally characterized by their ability to increase your heart and breathing rates. And, as with most things, it gets a little easier with time. We recommend starting small and working your way up, but we will get to that a little later.

Why Is Endurance Training Important?

At the core of endurance is the idea that the more we can sustain a level of exertion, the stronger we get over time. With endurance training, we’re able to resist future stress or injury on the body parts that we train. Not to mention, it supports recovery time for those instances where we may push a little too far and face an injury.

According to the American Heart Association, endurance training keeps your heart, lungs, and circulatory systems healthy. And while we can certainly do endurance training with weights, it is more commonly associated with “aerobic” fitness.

This type of workout can actually increase longevity. Endurance training can reduce your likelihood of developing illnesses like diabetes, stroke, and heart disease, and it’s never too late to start training for your health.

How Much Endurance Training Should I Do?

Your fitness journey is personal, so the amount of training that’s right for you might not be right for someone else. If you’ve been running marathons your whole life, you probably enjoy running enough to make endurance training a significant part of your routine. If you’ve never tried endurance training, something as simple as a 10-minute walk is a fantastic way to get started.

The American Heart Association recommends 2.5 hrs of moderate – vigorous activity per week. According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, you should get 2.5-5 hours of moderate – intense activity per week. According to a Harvard study, walking three miles a week could result in a 10% reduction risk of heart disease—that’s pretty amazing for something that could also help you ground yourself in the present, connect with your neighborhood, and provide a little self-care.

It’s important for you to work your way toward 2.5-5 hours of weekly exercise, but don’t be discouraged if all you can do at first is 10 minutes at a time a few days a week. Make sure you’re working toward a bigger goal and your body will thank you for it. Pretty soon, your 10 minutes of endurance exercise will turn into a full 45 minute workout, you just have to believe in yourself and take the steps to build up your cardiovascular endurance strength.

What kind of endurance exercises can I do?

When we say “endurance training,” what workout do you think of first?

Here’s a guess: is it running?

Luckily for those who aren’t runners—which is perfectly okay, as running can be very tough on the body and it’s not for everyone—there are a myriad of ways to work your endurance.

Examples of physical activities that are considered endurance workouts that aren’t running include:

Walking
Jogging
Swimming
Cycling
Dancing
Hiking
Climbing stairs
Doing burpees in front of the TV
Trying to match the energy of a toddler at the park
Rowing
Elliptical training
Jump rope
Boxing
Muay Thai
Surfing
Tennis
and much, much more

The best thing about endurance exercise training is that it’s about getting your heart rate up more than anything else and there’s a world of activities that can support you in your effort to get healthier. So find what works for you and have fun!

If you would like to try endurance training, we have equipment and space at all of our locations to get you healthier than ever before. You can also try endurance training workouts on our virtual fitness platform, iChuze Fitness, where we have exercises to help you with your body, mind, and heart. Download your 7-day pass today!

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