Sweat the Small Stuff?
2/21/2025 Issue #8 Do Sweat the Small Stuff?
“Learning something without applying it is pretend learning; if you learn something useful, but change no behaviors you have only wasted your time” - me
Fit Tip: Do I Need to Detox?
There are four ways the body detoxes and none of them require a special overpriced tea or juice. Detoxing is a natural process performed by the body in which the kidneys, liver, digestive system, skin, and lungs eliminate harmful substances. This is accomplished through pooping, peeing, sweating, and breathing. Now, while you don’t need to perform any kind of detox ritual by means of some bowel-shaking product, you can support the natural process of detoxing by supporting those four natural body functions.
Having a healthy diet containing some vegetables, fiber, and plenty of water will support the pooping and peeing just fine. No need to bring about unnecessary looseness of the stools.
Sweating is one detox method that many of us could use a little more of. Due to perfectly temperature regulated homes and gyms, we can go weeks without breaking a sweat. If you have access to a sauna, I highly recommend it. Research heavily supports regular sauna use for many benefits, one of which is getting rid of metals and other small toxins through sweating. If you can’t use a sauna, just adjust your cardio days or outdoor chores to allow for some healthy perspiration.
Breathing: Yes, even breathing eliminates waste. An easy way to support this is performing a deep breathing exercise like one we used as a challenge in the past. Set aside some time to simply breathe: 5 seconds in, 5 seconds out. Deep, calm breaths, all through the nose. Place a hand on your chest and one on your belly; you should feel both hands get pushed away as you breathe into your whole torso.
Media: Before You Take Creatine! - EVERY Woman Need To Know This... | Mind Pump 2530
I have talked about supplements before, and the one supplement that always comes out on top is creatine. The reason for this is that it benefits everyone! Young and old, male and female. It was originally thought of as a supplement only for gym goers due to its effectiveness in increasing strength and muscle gains. No, it will not make you bulky or bloated. No, it is not like steroids. No, it is not bad for your kidneys. It is shown to have many other benefits with zero side effects. Some of the lesser known benefits are cognitive and heart health related! It is naturally occurring in meat, yet even meat-eaters benefit from supplementing with some creatine.
This episode from MindPump was great because it speaks to a group of people most hesitant to try creatine: women. They dispel the myths and describe what creatine is doing in the body.
Please excuse the click-baity title of this episode.
Challenge for the Week: Perform the Sit-and-Rise Test
This is a simple exercise in which you test if you can both sit down and rise up from the cross-legged position without using any kind of assist. It’s a fantastic little test that can be used as practice as well. This should bring to light what kind of flexibility you have in your hips as well as reveal possible balance, coordination, or core strength deficits that could be improved on.
Instructions:
If you think you will need assistance, stand next to a wall or something sturdy. Cross one foot in front of the other and sit down on the floor into a cross-legged position without holding onto anything if possible.
From the cross-legged sitting position, rise up off the floor preferably without placing your hands or knees on the floor or using anything else for support. It helps to lean and reach forward while rising up.
I highly recommend testing yourself frequently even if you could perform this without any problems. If you had to “cheat” a little somewhere then keep working at it. Maybe it's simply leg strength, maybe you sit too much and need to do something to keep your hips more flexible.
Test it out and challenge a friend in the next week.
Win the weekend!
Brad
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