“take care of your body. it’s the only place you have to live.”
CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK
CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK! PUNCHES! This is Juliann’s all time favorite. This CHALLENGE is sure to get you moving, endorphins flowing, tone and strengthen your arms, and burn the calories! This week I challenge you to 100 punches on day one, then add an additional 100 to each day (Day 1: 100 punches, Day 2: 200 punches, Day 3: 300 punches, etc.) ending with 700 on day 7. Yep I said it, 700 on the last day. You GOT THIS TEAM! LET'S GO!
Key benefits of fitness boxing:
Improves balance.
Helps posture.
Strengthens upper- body and core.
Boosts endurance.
Increase alertness.
Enhances mood.
Improves hand-eye coordination.
TIP OF THE WEEK
Okay team, bear with me here. We just celebrated 4th of July weekend. I sincerely hope you all had an awesome weekend and indulged. You deserve it. Now it's time to jump right back into it. Check out the article in Industry News that provides facts as to why alcohol really prohibits your body from benefiting from the full effects of exercise as well as seriously negatively affects your overall health and wellness. Try for just this week to not consume alcohol. Let me know how you feel. It won't be as bad as you think, I promise.
MEAL + snack ideas
INDUSTRY NEWS
No Drinking & Training!
BY: CHARLES WORD FOR BODYBUILDING.COM
If Drinking Is Good For You, Not Drinking Is Better!
A few servings of alcohol can have some great health and mental benefits. Alcohol in small doses has been proven to enhance relaxation and have some benefits to the heart by thinning the blood. Even with 2-3 cups (beer=cups / liquor=shots) of alcohol, though, there are usually more than 150 calories, and the adverse affects such as dehydration and minimized recovery start to set in. Drinking really is not necessary to your health, and there are more negative effects than positive ones.
There is a saying that goes, "Abstain - and get them gains!" This suggests the truth - that not drinking has many benefits to progress in the gym. If you were to drink alcohol, it would cause a direct negative impact for a day or two afterward.
A lot of these unwanted results would linger in the body for longer, though, as the body scrambles to get back to normal, and by then you may have already had a few drinks again. By not drinking, you improve the quality of everything you do for the next couple of days.
What You Miss Out On By Drinking
When you decide to take a few cups (beer=cups / liquor=shots) of alcohol one night, you may not realize it, but you are severely diminishing possible performance for the next day.
The following will compare your body's performance after a night of drinking with your body's performance after a night without alcohol - you might be surprised by these facts!
Hydration
1-2 Days After Drinking
Since alcohol consumption is very hard on the kidneys, drinking will have a negative impact on your body's hydration. Your body's water will go to the kidneys to metabolize the alcohol when it should be used to help process other substances!
Hydration is key to performance in sports or weight lifting because water is needed in all energy-creating reactions. It can take the body a while to become re-hydrated, so I suggest if you are out drinking, have a glass of water as well, to maintain proper hydration.
1-2 Days After Not Drinking
Since you have not consumed alcohol for the past 1-2 days, you are not seeing any of the negative effects of dehydration. Processing all of the substances in your body is easy, because alcohol is not limiting this at all.
Your performance in your sport or weight lifting routine is steadily improving because you are not hitting any roadblocks due to dehydration.
Mind Function
1-2 Days After Drinking
Alcohol diminishes the function of the mind through various processes. It affects many of the hormone functions in the brain within 1-2 minutes of consumption. Besides that, alcohol intake slows glycogen metabolism. This means the brain receives less glycogen, so it doesn't have much energy.
Since the mind plays a large role in any exercise to aid in motivation and focus, decreased mind function due to alcohol should be avoided!
1-2 Days After Not Drinking
Since you have not had any alcohol in your system in the past day or two, your mind function is at its normal level. Your workouts will probably feel much better than they did coming a day or two after drinking!
Protein Synthesis
Anabolism, or protein synthesis, is negatively affected by alcohol. Alcohol hurts the absorption of protein in the body, just like it hurts the absorption of any other substance. Because less protein is being turned into muscle tissue, you are not growing to the fullest!
This decrease in protein synthesis doesn't just slow down growth, it also hurts recovery, because less protein is going to repair muscle tissue.
1-2 Days After Not Drinking
With improved recovery and protein synthesis, you might not see a sudden change, but in time the increased growth and recovery will really make a difference!
Cardiovascular
Alcohol's blood thinning effects might help the heart somewhat, but don't be mislead - alcohol's negative effects on the heart are more numerous than its positive effects.
Decreased cardiovascular activity can make recovery in lifting and sports more difficult in between sets or drills.
1-2 Days After Not Drinking
Since you have not been drinking in the past day or two, you should feel like you're in better shape. This is because the heart is functioning better!
Strength Performance
Because of many of the aforementioned processes that alcohol can have a negative impact on, strength performance takes a hit as well. When you are not properly hydrated and recovered, how can you expect to perform at optimal strength levels?
Diminished mind function can also be a very bad thing when it comes to strength performance- you might not have the same level of mental focus, as you did while not on alcohol.
1-2 Days After Not Drinking
Since you haven't had any alcohol in your system for the past few days, all of these effects can be avoided. You can finally realize your full potential since alcohol is not hiding it.
Energy Levels
Alcohol tends to limit the metabolism of other substances in the body. One of these substances is the carbohydrate. By limiting carbohydrate metabolism, muscle glycogen levels are limited. This means that fatigue sets in earlier and endurance, strength and speed are compromised.
As I mentioned before, the negative impacts on cardiovascular function also have a negative impact on the body.
1-2 Days After Not Drinking
Without having consumed alcohol over the past 1-2 days, you should notice an improvement in energy levels. Those long sports practices or workouts will probably seem shorter, and of better quality!
The Calories In Alcohol DO Count!
The large number of calories in alcohol is not good at all for a bodybuilder. For those of you with a faster metabolism, you might try to rationalize it that you need the calories to gain weight, but then you also get the negative effects of alcohol. Alcohol isn't really all that nutrient-dense anyway. I have compiled a list of common alcoholic beverages, and their calorie contents.
When we look at the numbers, it becomes apparent that a drink or two can easily be burned off, but any more than that can be difficult to get rid of. These forms of exercise are all very intense and can take a lot of effort, especially if you have to do them on top of your regular workout.
While the calories in the alcohol you consume might be burned off, their negative effects remain in the body, and it will take just as long to return the body to its regular state.
Conclusion
You will see an immediate improvement in strength, focus, motivation, intensity, endurance and recovery when you decide to lay off the alcohol. The calories can lead to unnecessary fat gain, but that is the least of your worries. Alcoholism can be the downfall of anyone who is interested in improving your body tone and weight. Just a cup or two of beer will have effects on the body's ability to function - not just for the next few hours, but for the next few days! In the time period it takes for the body to return to normal, which can be anywhere from 3 days to one week, you will still be negatively impacted.
Alcohol Effects on the Body
BY: National Institute of Health
Diminished gray matter and white matter in the brain.
Memory loss.
Loss of attention span.
Alcoholic hepatitis.
Liver fibrosis.
Steatosis (i.e., fatty liver).
Throat, mouth, larynx, breast, liver, colorectal, or esophageal cancer.
High blood pressure
Cardiomyopathy
Stroke
Irregular heart beat
Mood swings.
Reduced core body temperature.
Raised blood pressure.