My body is a gift. I treat it with love and respect.

Affirmation of the week: My body is a gift. I treat it with love and respect.

New – Journal prompt of the week: Song lyrics that get my hype are…and why?

Can you believe we hit daylight savings for 2022 already? Today is also National Nap Day and after losing that hour, I might need to take one LOL! Springing forward means we are adjusting to more daylight and less sleep time and while you know how much I love some sleep, I'm excited to get more daylight and into some springtime antics. The time change brings a strong reminder that summer is right around the corner so we may be springing into our fitness programs in prep for warmer temps, travel and our beautiful 'fits and cheers to us! Our heart pumping sweat sessions are amazing for us both physically and emotionally, especially while still managing some of the lingering impacts of the pandemic. While we're doing a great job getting our workouts into our tight schedules, we might be leaving proper post-workout recovery support on the table. Today, that might look like some hydration, a snack or small meal and a brief stretch and whale that's good, we need more…oh so much more to make sure we truly benefit from all the work we're putting in. When we don't activate proper post-workout recovery strategies, we can end up with stiffness, prolonged soreness and risk of injury…and risk of ruining our hard work and ultimately our summer!...no babes, we're not doing that. Did you know that many of the same steps we need to take to properly recover from a workout, also are major key contributors to essential body functions that help us to stay healthy, energized and realize all the benefits of our workouts. I know it can be tempting to skip this part, but instead, try to incorporate these top five steps instead: Cool down: Plan to commit an additional 5-6 minutes to your workout sesh to focus on your breath and incorporate deep stretching of all your major muscle groups while they are “warm” to prevent and ease muscle tension, enhance blood flow, prevent stiffness, promote flexibility and the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to tired muscles, all which support repair and recovery and help your body grow stronger. Pour it up: Yes, hydration is super key after a sweat sesh to replenish the water, electrolytes and nutrients you've lost. But don't think you should wait until after your workout to hydrate, it's so important to sip before and during your workout to improve absorption rather than guzzling at the end when you're super thirsty. Hydrating properly helps regulate your body temperature and prevent muscle stiffness, cramps and dizziness by carrying all the nutrients throughout your body to promote recovery. Roll it out: You know I am a huge fan of foam rolling and also rolling out muscles on a tennis ball. It is basically a way to give yourself a massage and release any of the stickiness within the fascia that can occur over time that creates soreness and reduces flexibility and mobility. The absolute queen in this space is Lauren Roxburgh, who I absolutely adore and all of her Aligned Life programs help me to recover, relax, release muscle tension and correct, restore and maintain my flexibility and mobility. I found her at one of the most active times in my life and her work is a staple for keeping me in my best functional shape. Turn up the heat: If you have access to an infrared sauna or a regular sauna - get it in all the time! Use of a sauna enhances muscle recovery by increasing blood circulation and carrying oxygen rich blood to depleted muscles. The heat also allows muscles to relax and relieve muscle tension. It's also amazing in helping to reduce stress and who doesn't need that…right or right? Alternatively, if you don't have access to a sauna, soak it up in a luxurious warm epsom salt bath to help prevent inflammation and joint and muscle irritation and sore muscles. The bonus points for an epsom soak…aka magnesium sulphate, an essential mineral that when added to hot bath water may help replenish the body's magnesium and electrolytes and alleviate muscle pain #winning Eat up: You're the snack and after a workout you'll need a whole meal to support recovery and build and repair muscles. Since muscles are most receptive to proteins and carbs within 30 minutes of your workout, aim to eat your meal during that time and depending on your training schedule, you might plan for another small snack a few hours from that meal as well. Skipping occasionally is ok, but shouldn't be the norm because implementing healthy post-workout habits will help prevent injuries and help keep you in the game and on track to reach your fitness goals. If you're on the run, I am a huge fan of a healthy, powered up protein shake, but if you've got a few minutes a few simple ideas for a post-recovery meal include an egg scramble with veggies and sweet potatoes, a colorful salad with a 4-6 oz. of your desired protein or high fiber wrap with your choice of protein, healthy fats and veggies. Creating a solid post workout recovery situation is the perfect match for optimizing all your hard work, keeping you in the game and hitting those goals! You're killing it and I'm so super proud of YOU! Thank you for riding with me…you all are part of my greatest gift in this life. Sending you big love! ❤️

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