Peace! Welcome to February! I know, I'm a week late to the party but bare with me; I've been a little under the weather. Let me tell you something I'm not missing this year: the FLU SHOT. Feel how you want about vaccines, but the flu is no joke. It was a rough week but I'm super excited to be back. In fact, I have a story for you.
Last week, I made my glorious return to the basketball court after a 9-day hiatus. Right before the end of my workout, these two high school kids came to the gym. I watched them drop their bags, take off their hoodies and sweats, and just start playing. No stretch, no warm-up, NADA. Just vibes. I looked over to their corner of the gym and saw a balanced meal: two bottles of water, a bag of plantain chips, and a Celsius.
The joys of youth, right?
Aside from terrible nutritional choices and setting their joints up for years of pain, you know what else I saw? Two people just having fun. It was a Friday night and they could have been doing ANYTHING in the world, but they decided to spend time with each other doing something fun and healthy. It was a reminder that joy is often times in the simple moments we spend with the ones we love. Sometimes, we can do things simply for the love of doing it. It was also a reminder that I'm boring as hell because why am I doing the same things that a couple 16 year olds are doing on a Friday night 😅. Anyway, let's get ready for the week.
Exercise
If you moved on to week 2 of the General Weightlifting Plan while I was gone, you're a good noodle. If not, you're just a noodle. Similar to the first week, we've got two days of strength training and 1-3 days of cardio. You know the drill: if you want to burn more fat, do more cardio. If you want to prioritize some other goals like improving your mobility or maybe you want to take a class at your local gym, feel free to fill in your empty days with something. Overall, we're aiming for 4-5 days of exercise this week.
You'll notice that some of the exercises this week are "unilateral", or single-sided. For example, Dumbbell Split Squats call for 3 sets of 10 reps. This means that for each set, you'll do 10 reps on each leg. Just wanted to clarify because a certain person named Nia that I know likes to pretend she didn't understand...
The current reps and sets are for general muscular development. If you want to get stronger and build muscle size, do lower reps and go heavier with the weight. If you want to build muscular endurance (maybe you're a long distance runner), increase the reps and lower the weight. Lastly, please don't skip your warm up. That's the most important part of the workout.
Nutrition
This week, we're going to up the ante a little bit with our nutrition goals:
1) Drink water at least 4x per day
2) Consume at least one fruit or vegetable per meal
3) Aim for at least 3 meals per day
Pro-tip: You can also "eat your water" by consuming hydrating fruits and vegetables like apples, oranges, cucumbers, and peppers!
Everyday Goals
Want to experience a full week on the EA App? All you gotta do is complete the Everyday Goals I set at the beginning of the week. Every time you complete a goal, send me an e-mail confirming that you completed the goal. Complete 3 goals and I'll make a week's worth of workouts for you in the EA App as well as a nutrition plan. Can't complete the goals? No problem; for every person you invite to our community that subscribes, I will make one workout for you. If you invite 5 people, I'll make the same plan for you. Now, if you invite 10 people, I'll make a month long plan for you! Whenever you want to redeem, just send me an e-mail with the names and e-mails of the people you've invited to our community. Iight, now time for these goals:
Perform 100 squats by Friday
Meal prep three lunches by Friday
Spend at least 10 minutes reflecting on your experience in January
Free Game
One of the most common mistakes I see in the average person's workout plan is that most of their workouts are bilateral. This means that they are usually training on both sides of their body at the same time. Two-legged squats, two-armed chest presses, regular planks, etc. Now, this is great as a foundation, but it isn't ideal.
When we only train bilaterally, we encourage muscular imbalances to develop. The human body is not symmetrical; it naturally has differences on each side. The most simple example is the fact that some of us are right-side dominant while others are left-side dominant. If you find that one leg is weaker than the other, you should consider incorporating unilateral exercises into your workout. Lunges are a great way to target one leg at a time, and because you're on one leg, you also develop your core and balance. Start with half the weight you would normally do (bodyweight is also fine too!) and focus on maintaining good form while you complete the exercise.
Everyday Tunes
Music has always been an important part of my life. Whether it's to get me hyped up or to calm my nerves, I lean on music to help regulate my thoughts and emotions. Every week I'll share some of my favorite tunes that I listen to; let me know what you think of my playlist and share some of your own favorites!
If you're looking for an old-school, 90s type hip-hop feel, this album is for you. I love this album because it has a nice balance of the braggadocios lyrics we love from hip-hop, but also some wholesome gems to live by.
You might remember this one if you were a Sopranos fan back in the day. This is a nice groove for your daily walk or maybe it's your wake up song. Either way, you'll never regret turning it on.
Make the Team
Want to take the EA experience with you to the gym and the kitchen? The EA On-The-Go app makes prioritizing your wellness simple with individualized workout programs, exercise tutorials, a nutrition tracking tool, and more. If you have questions, feel free to message me using any of the channels below!