HH #15 - Fit for the Life You Want to Live

Sydney & Lori welcome special guest Jenny LaBaw to the show in today’s episode. Learn WHY you want to include fitness/exercise/movement in your regular routine. We dive into the topic of fitness and using exercise to support optimal health. Jenny shares tips for those just getting started, helps us with mindset and motivation, and talks about appropriate exercises for different states of stress and adrenal health. We cover misconceptions about exercise and some things that you need to let go of to be able to be fit for the life that you want to live.

We are so excited to be chatting with Jenny LaBaw in today’s episode!

Jenny LaBaw is a strength and conditioning coach, functional nutritional therapy practitioner, and outdoor adventurer. As an athlete, she played collegiate soccer, softball and ran track. In her athletic career outside of college, she placed 1st in the Northern California CrossFit regionals, 6th in the world at the CrossFit Games and ran 500 miles across the Colorado Rockies for charity. Professionally she has her BA in Fitness and Wellness, is NSCA and Crossfit Level 2 certified, is a certified mobility specialist and is a certified FNTP. For the past 2 decades, she has dedicated her work and studies to fitness, nutrition, wellness and mindset. Her passion lies in helping others to realize and achieve their potential through fitness, nutrition and lifestyle coaching. Her goal is to inspire others by living her truth.

WHY EXERCISE – Benefits Beyond a Toned Body

For those that don’t care if they have a 6 pack (or maybe they care but have given up on it happening), what are some of the other benefits to exercising?

- Cognitive
  - Memory
  - Focus
  - Clarity

Exercise helps to

- reduce insulin resistance

- reduce inflammation

- stimulate the release of growth factors—chemicals in the brain that affect the health of brain cells, the growth of new blood vessels in the brain, and the survival of new brain cells.

Important to note that studies show that physical activity and physical exercise (planned, repetitive, goal of improving physical fitness) are different and PE is more effective.

Sleep
- - Same reasons above, plus the ability to better handle sugar and regulate cortisol levels…. When done appropriately!
Energy
- - Increased blood flow, reduced inflammation, ability to handle sugar better

BALANCE

- Impact of exercise on the HPA Axis – both how it can help to bring stress levels down but how it can be a stressor

- Underexercising – physical activity vs physical exercise…taking into account adrenal function
- Overtraining vs. Underrecovering
  - If someone is finding that they are underrecovering/overexercising and they want to be able to keep up that level of fitness, what things can they address to be able to perform at that level/pace?
    - Nutrition (rid processed/refined sugar foods)… recovery drinks are a big one for this. Hydration. Enough protein. Enough fat. Enough carbohydrate.
    - Sleep… that’s when we recover
    - Infarred saunas, epsom salt baths, dry brushing, detox methods to rid free radicals/oxidative stress
    - Review what kind of exercise you’re doing (too much high intensity)
    - Community/Balance
    - Supplementation: Fish oil, BCAAs, Turmeric,

GETTING FIT

Tips for getting started

- Find what sounds fun! Normally, I’d say sign up for a class or a gym, but now find that service online. Hire a trainer. Find a buddy. Just start! Maybe even just a walk around the gym. But… if totally new, seek guidance.

At minimum, what should we be doing?

- Walking Daily! Mobility Daily! High intensity 1-2 days/week (if adrenals are good). Get OUTSIDE!

For those people who don’t like exercising, what would you recommend?

- Find an activity you enjoy (playing on the playground with your kids, find a “sport” (pickle ball, roller blading, dance class or YouTube videos); find a community that supports you and ask them to join; listen to your favorite podcast while you hike; give yourself a reward (I only get to watch my favorite TV show if I hit my exercise that week).

What are some of the biggest nutritional mistakes that people make that hinder them getting fit?

- All the pre and post workouts stuff!

- Eating too little

- Not being hydrated

BASIC MOBILITY

We spend so much time sitting at desks and sedentary, what are the exercises that we can do to help balance that out?

- Couch Stretch, Calf Stretch, Chest Openers (mostly though… just keep moving)
- Check out Jenny’s YouTube page for examples of these and other exercises – form and safety is important!

MINDSET

Those of us who have been fit and then have gotten out of shape, it can be hard to get going again. Any tips on changing mindset so that you can keep going until your body is back to craving the workouts again?

- Listen to your body! But give it a “tough love” mentality. The 5 minute rule.

Tips for staying motivated?

- Have a friend. Have a reason… know your why (tip: weight loss isn’t enough)

How do you keep yourself out of the all or nothing mentality?

- This is my lifestyle… of this is the long game. Once you adopt that, it all sort of just falls into place. Yes, ups and downs and accepting you can’t be your fittest all the time or your perfect diet…

What are some of the biggest misconceptions that women have about fitness that you wish they would let go of?

- Lifting will make me get “bulky”.

- Long cardio is the only way to lose weight.

- I need to do at least an hour or it doesn’t count.

WEIGHT LOSS

This is always a big concern for our clients. While we always like to focus on addressing the underlying root causes of the weight gain/inability to lose weight, what are the most efficient and effective changes that someone can make to their exercise routine to help boost weight loss?