Calcium Food List

Calcium is an essential nutrient.

How essential?, you ask.

Well, let’s have a looksy… Continue reading Calcium Food List

Potassium Food List

Potassium!⁣
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That’s right, you heard me.⁣
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The key to your problem is potassium!!!⁣
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If you’re like most Americans, you fall well short of the recommended daily intake of 4.7g of potassium per day, with that number being higher for those regularly engaged in intense physical activity for prolonged periods of time. And because you’re like most Americans who fall well short of the recommended daily intake of potassium, your muscles cramp while working out due to you losing what little potassium you do have through sweat.¹Meeting potassium requirements is also important for reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke, as the mineral helps relax the walls of the blood vessels so blood can flow smoothly. Along that same front of lowering blood pressure, potassium also plays a role in filtering sodium in the kidneys for removal from the body. Additionally, potassium is essential for heart contractions, hormone regulation, calcium absorption, and the protection of bone density.⁣²The recommended intake for potassium is 4700 mg. As stated, that comes out to 4.7 grams, as grams is a unit that people who aren’t drug dealers can more easily comprehend than milligrams. Most people don’t meet that goal and should do a better job of reaching or exceeding it, depending on their activity level.

Others, however, may be served not to increase their intake. One such example is people with kidney problems. If you’ve already been diagnosed with kidney issues, then you should consult with a medical professional to find out what your limit is to avoid potential nerve and muscle damage from the extra potassium staying in the body on account of the kidneys not working properly. Diabetics, people with a history of heart failure, and those who take high blood pressure medication are also prone to complications from hyperkalemia, or too much potassium. Seek medical advice if any of those conditions apply to you.
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So yeah, the key to your problem is potassium!!!⁣ Continue reading Potassium Food List

How To Get More Movement In Your Day

Who needs to be more active in their daily life?⁣
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If you said “me” as in [insert your name], then you’re absolutely correct!⁣
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Below are some ways to make more use of your legs throughout the day to help address that sedentary lifestyle of yours that you just willingly told me about.⁣ Continue reading How To Get More Movement In Your Day

How To: Elbow Plank

Name an exercise for the abs other than sit-ups and crunches.

I’ll give you five seconds.

5…4…3…2…1

Ooooooooh, time’s up!

In the eternity you were given to answer, one of the exercises you could have said is planks.

Though it may not look like it, planks work the rectus abdominis like sit-ups and crunches but what the exercise has over them is that it does so without recruiting the hip flexors as much or placing as much stress on the spine. That’s one advantage. Another is that planks don’t strengthen your six-pack alone, as recruitment takes place of the obliques, transverse abdominis, and several other muscles within the abdomen that attach to the spine and pelvis.¹The glutes, quads, hamstrings, chest, shoulders, arms, traps, lats, and rhomboids also work during a plank, making it a total body exercise. Those muscles constitute the core and improved stability, better posture, and reduced susceptibility to back pain and injury are all benefits of making them stronger.

There are many different types of planks and they each vary in their degree of benefits, which can only be enjoyed if you do them correctly. Speaking to that, as easy as it looks to hold yourself up in a plank position, it’s just as easy to perform the movement wrong, which is the case for most people when it comes to this particular exercise. So you’re not like those people, what say you to learning how to perform the most popular version of the plank, that being the elbow plank?²The elbow plank is also known as the forearm plank, low plank, and forward plank.

Good, glad to hear you’re game! Continue reading How To: Elbow Plank

Percussive Massage Gun

By now you’ve probably seen people at the gym whipping out and using on themselves what looks and sounds like a power drill. This is as inescapable a sight as people actually lifting and working out was once upon a time ago instead of doing everything other than that.¹Ahhhhhhhhhh, those were the days!!!

So what’s going on? Continue reading Percussive Massage Gun