YOU DID IT!!! How is Lots of Love over already?!?! The past two weeks have been so much fun, I know I’m feeling so amazing! It’s so great to really just take some time, focus on yourself, be a little selfish and reset! It’s so necessary to fill your cup and after these 2 weeks my cup is SO full.
This community is just amazing, I’m inspired on the daily seeing Team LSF lift each other up and support each other no matter what. Just because Lots of Love is over, that doesn’t mean you stop focusing on yourself girl! Life is crazy but remember to give yourself those acts of self love, big or small.
Keep your eye out… because in a few weeks we are announcing our next challenge!! It’s going to be a good one, I can’t wait
Let’s do this! Here’s your March workout schedule.
Access the Free Daily 10 in the LSF app! Download on your itunes or google play stores.
#LSFFeelinYourSelfFriday: Take time today to be silly. It feels so good to connect with your inner child!
Did you see this healthy lava cake recipe?!?! If you haven’t, you need to make this asap!! It’s my new favorite dessert and the best part is that I don’t have a major sugar crash afterwards. So easy and so yummy! Check out the recipe new on the blog.
Hi friends! Happy Friday. I hope you had a wonderful week. It’s the kids’ Rodeo Break (it’s a Tucson thing!) so it’s been so nice having a break from virtual school and dance classes for the crew. It reminds me of the slower days of summer and I’m LOVING it: sleeping in, taking lots of walks and bike rides, and hitting the pool whenever we wanted. (We might go for a swim this weekend!) I’m going to soak up the next three days. I hope you have a fun and relaxing weekend ahead.
It’s time for the weekly Friday Faves party. This is where I share some of my favorite finds from the week and around the web. I always love to hear about your faves, too, so please shout out something you’re loving in the comments section below!
Good eats + fitness:
Blue Apron!! (They’re a partner for the blog and we’ve loved their meals for years.) We enjoyed Blue Apron dinners this week and it really streamlines the evening routine. The meals are always fresh and flavorful, and since the Pilot was gone this week, I got the two-person serving, which is the perfect size for the girls and myself. (The servings are always very generous!) For all of our dinners, I’ll often cook the rice or chop veggies during the day so that I only have to do a couple of steps during the dinner rush. (When the kids are hangry and start invading the pantry for bars and snacks, it’s so helpful to get dinner done FAST.)
We LOVED this chicken curry with rice. I cooked the rice in the Instant Pot and had pre-chopped the veggies, so it was on the table in 15 minutes.
If you want to try Blue Apron, their flash sale ends on the 28th and you’ll get $100 off your first five boxes!! Check it out here.
We FINALLYYYY updated our dishes and silverware for the first time in our marriage. After much deliberation, we went with the Mercer collection and this silverware. We’re happy with the change and I have to say, it’s super weird to open the pantry and all of the dishes match, instead of the hodge lodge days of yore. #adulting. The low bowl is definitely the most-used option; it’s the perfect size for giant salads, or any type of curry or bowl meal.
(This was a Mediterranean-style bowl from a baby meal I made last weekend and it was a dreaaaam.)
I’m almost done with the Britney documentary and thank you to those of you who helped me find it! (It’s on Hulu under New York Times Presents. I thought it was a standalone documentary and that’s why I couldn’t find it!) So far, it’s super sad and has also made me remember all of the reasons why I love her.
This Light Stim for Wrinkles. It’s been in its little pouch for a long time, but I finally decided to give it a whirl. I’ve been using it at night while reading, and while I don’t notice a HUGE difference, my skin does feel smoother. (Apparently it can take up to six weeks to really see results.)
Join us tonight for a virtual Self-Care Soiree! Some friends on our Beautycounter team (including Ashley and Heather!) are hanging out on Zoom tonight to chat about self care, tips for making safer skincare and beauty choices, and also share some giveaways. It’s at 4:30 PST/7:30 EST and should last an hour or a little less. Just wear your comfies and bring your favorite beverage! Let me know in the comments section if you can make it and I’ll send you an invite.
Ah, the sweet chocolaty goodness of lava cakes. These super gooey mini-cakes really are the Queen of all desserts. Usually, lava cakes are the go-to dessert that wraps up the perfect romantic meal. What with all the whipping, double-pot melting, dusting–and sugar and butter–involved, they’re definitely a labor of love. Lava cakes are the dessert you eat while thinking to yourself: “Well, it is a special occasion, so just this once.”
Now you can indulge your chocolate fix without all the calories and guilt–and without sacrificing taste. Our healthy chocolate lava cake is so easy to make you can whip them up whenever the craving hits! And they’re dairy- and gluten-free so you won’t suffer through all the bloat-y aftermath.
We use all clean ingredients to create these little bursts of heaven, including dark chocolate, monk sugar, coconut oil, eggs, almond flour, tapioca starch, and just a touch of vanilla and salt. We know it’s hard to imagine how these healthy ingredients can make such a rich decadent chocolate flavor that explodes in your mouth. (Cripes, someone hand me a cold shower!) But trust us, this recipe creates the perfect molten chocolate centers surrounded by fluffy gluten-free cake.
OK so let’s discuss monk fruit sugar — which is so good, it’s a mind-bender trying to understand how it literally has NO CALORIES. The monk fruit or “Buddha fruit” is small and round, and kinda looks like a cross between a melon and a walnut. Once you’ve used the extracted dried granules in recipes, you’ll wonder how you’ve lived without it. Apparently, the sweetness comes from an antioxidant compound called mogrosides within the fruit. Also, it will not raise blood sugar levels so is a perf option for people with diabetes.
It’s like you asked some genie in a bottle to grant you one wish for something that’s sweeter than granulated sugar (like 100 to 250 times sweeter) and legit good for you, too. Poof! Wish granted.
So go ahead and try these magical healthy lava cakes for dessert tonight. Everyone will think you’re being SUPER FANCY. And we won’t say a word.
You’re here because you want to learn how to improve your flexibility.
Well, you’ve arrived at the right place!
We’ve been hosting flexibility challenges in our app, Nerd Fitness Journey. Today, we’ll share with you the same exercises we use to improve general mobility.
If you’ve always considered yourself “inflexible,” you need this guide!
I promise you, if you follow the videos in our guide, you will be more flexible in 30 days.
Let’s get bendy!
What Are the 3 Best Flexibility Exercises? (Intro and Benchmark Test)
The above video comes from Nerd Fitness Prime, kicking off our 30-day challenge “Flexibility for the Inflexible.”
In it, Nerd Fitness Coach Matt discusses the three best exercises for improving flexibility, which are:
The Toe Touch
The Back Scratch
The Butterfly Stretch
Let’s go over each of these moves now.
#1) Toe Touch
To perform a standing toe touch:
Stand straight with your legs about hip-width apart. You want your legs to be straight, but don’t aggressively lock out your knees either (this feels like a “microbend” to a lot of people).
Begin by bending and leaning forward towards the ground with your quads (front of your legs).
Let your body rest naturally, as if you were a ragdoll. Keeping your hands relatively close together, straighten your fingers and begin to stretch down slowly to the ground.
The goal here, ultimately, will be to touch your toes.
Take a comfortable seat (or stand), with your torso and back tall.
Tuck your thumbs inside of your fist.
Place your right hand behind your head, down back over your shoulder. Reach as far down the middle of your back as possible, palm facing you.
Your other arm (left) is going to go behind and up, with your palm facing away. Reach this hand toward your upper hand (don’t strain).
Switch arms and reverse the moment.
Over time, we are going to work to bring your hands closer together.
#3) Butterfly Stretch
To perform a butterfly stretch:
Take a seat, with your legs facing out in front of you.
Bring both of your front feet together, with the bottoms touching, by bending your knees away from each other.
Grab both feet with your hands, with your elbows coming down toward your knee (they don’t have to touch).
Keep your back straight, and allow your knees to come down (if they can, don’t force it).
The goal here will be to bring your knees lower and feet closer to your groin, but don’t fret if this is challenging. Even Coach Matt has trouble with butterfly stretches.
Why these three exercises?
Coach Matt refers to the toe touch, back scratch, and butterfly stretch as “benchmarks.”
If you have decent mobility in these three exercises, you’re probably pretty flexible.
Improving these will be our mission for the next 30 days!
Each week, Coach Matt will provide three different video routines with exercises designed to target these specific benchmarks.
So in Week 1, you’ll find a video for:
Toe Touches
Back Scratches
Butterfly Stretches
You can do these videos all at once if you want, or break them up throughout your week.
Maybe you do a routine Monday, Wednesday, and then on Friday.
We’ll end this guide with some tips on starting a recurring practice.
At the end of our 4-week series, we’ll check-in, to see how everything is coming along.
Here’s what we need you to do right now: record where you are with these moves.
How far down can you reach with your toe touch?
How far apart are your hands during the back scratch?
How close are your feet and how high up are your knees during the butterfly stretch?
Coach Matt recommends a few ways to measure these benchmarks in the introductory video above, but even some subjective tracking would be useful:
“On a scale of 1 to 10, this move was tough, so I’d give it an 8.”
Don’t forget about this initial tracking, even if you don’t have a measuring tape. Just go through the initial benchmark tests the best you can.
Before we jump into the series itself, let’s discuss some general tips and tricks for improving flexibility.
Tips and Tricks for Increased Flexibility
First and foremost, all bodies are different.
You might have a great range of motion in your back scratch, but can’t get much range on your toe touch. Or maybe you’re like Coach Matt, where butterfly stretches are challenging.
Our goal here is to improve YOUR flexibility. We’ll all have different mobility ranges on Day 1.
All of us have to start somewhere, so don’t stress if you feel inflexible…
…that’s why you’re reading this guide.
No matter what, by going through this process, you’ll learn more about your body and develop tools for increasing your range of motion.
Next up…
Coach Matt highlights two general ways to increase your flexibility:
Function. This is your technique and awareness of your flexibility. Think of this as maximizing the potential of your current body.
Structure.This would be your body itself, and the range of motion of muscles, tendons, etc. Structure is about changing your body itself through these flexibility exercises.
You’re probably not going to increase the structural flexibility of your body after one stretching session. These things take time
However, you very well may increase your flexibility by improving your function or technique. As you go through the videos, Coach Matt will offer instructions on how to position your body for proper stretching.
This alone may very well increase your range of motion.
We’ll also be using three specific movement tools for improving flexibility:
#1) Active Range of Motion
This would be doing the complete movement of an exercise, fluidly.
So a normal bodyweight squat would be an active range of motion if you did the entire movement:
By going all the way down and back up with your squat, your muscles are engaged evenly throughout.
#2) Pulses
This movement has you stopping at a particular point of an exercise, like the bottom of a squat, and slowly and in control, pulsing slightly up and down:
You’re really only moving about an inch here for your pulses.
This will help you gain control of that particular area.
#3) Holds
As the name would suggest, here you’ll hold the position at a specific point of the exercise.
For example, for your squats, you may pause at the bottom of the movement:
This can help you grow stability during a particular stretch.
During the course of the next four weeks, we’ll be utilizing a combination of active range of motion, pulses, and holds, to increase your flexibility.
And with that, onto week 1!
How to Improve Your Flexibility: Week 1
For our first week, Coach Matt is going to start us off slow.
Here, it’s all about learning the foundations of the movement.
To increase flexibility, it often comes down to properly setting up the stretch.
We’ll begin by teaching you the basics.
Toe Touch Week 1:
Back Scratch Week 1:
Butterfly Series Week 1:
How to Improve Your Flexibility: Week 2
This week, we’re going to identify the edge of your flexibility.
We won’t push or strain ourselves too much, but we’ll use our breath as a sign of difficulty.
The goal here is to understand how flexible you may actually be (you might be able to reach farther than you think).
However, as Coach Matt will continuously remind you, if it feels unsafe, DON’T DO IT!
Toe Touch Week 2:
Back Scratch Week 2:
Butterfly Series Week 2:
How to Improve Your Flexibility: Week 3
In Week 3, it’s all about exploring and expanding your flexibility exercises.
We’ll be testing your movements and begin thinking about ways to “go off the rails” a little here and there.
In our third round of exercises, you’ll begin changing, adapting, and remixing the moves to increase your range of motion.
With flexibility, some creativity can be a good thing, which will be your focus for this stage.
Toe Touch Week 3:
Back Scratch Week 3:
Butterfly Series Week 3:
How to Improve Your Flexibility: Week 4
In the last week of “Flexibility for the Inflexible,” it’s all about building strength.
Muscle will help you hold and expand mobility positions, so this week Coach Matt covers exercises designed to couple strength with your flexibility.
We’ll even mix in some weights into your routine here.
Toe Touch Week 4:
Back Scratch Week 4:
Butterfly Series Week 4:
Next Steps for Becoming More Flexible
The video above is a “re-cap party” with Coach Matt, ending the 30-dayFlexibility for the Inflexiblechallenge we ran for Nerd Fitness Prime members.
Let’s go over some highlights.
#1) Continue to test and retest your flexibility benchmarks.
That which gets measured gets improved, so continue to track your toe touch, back scratch, and butterfly stretch.
Remember, these tests don’t need to be some precise measurement rounded to the nearest millimeter (although if you want to do that, have at it).
Instead, they can be subjective:
“This is really tough, I can’t bring down my knees at all.”
to…
“I could probably sit like this for 15 minutes.”
Don’t stress out over how precise your measurements are, but do keep a record of how these stretches feel. It’ll help us know if you’re improving.
#2) Use your breath as a guide.
Breathing can often be a signal of excretion levels:
If your breath is calm and normal, what you’re doing is within your comfort range.
If you’re huffing and puffing a lot, or even holding your breath, you’re probably exerting yourself too much.
As Coach Matt highlights, during your flexibility exercises, don’t push too far past your comfort zone.
Yes, we should find your edge, but we also want you to feel in control during your stretches so you can really “own” the movement.
If you find yourself having to catch your breath, it could be a sign you’ve gone too far.
Be mindful of your breathing during our flexibility exercises.
#3) You don’t have to stretch every day.
You probably noticed that we provided three 20 minute videos per week to help improve your flexibility.
This was intentional, because you don’t have to stretch every day to increase your range of motion.
Truth be told, you don’t even need to do 20-minute sequences three times a week to improve flexibility. Even just 10 minutes of flexibility exercises a couple of times per week could improve your mobility.
To do so, you can continue to follow the videos in this guide, or I have some other resources for you to check out.
Here are three more guides for improving your flexibility:
21 Yoga Poses for Beginners. Yoga can be a great practice to improve your flexibility. If you’ve never tried it before, check out our guide. We’ll provide video sequences designed for beginners, so don’t worry if you have no clue what a downward dog is. We’ll teach you.
Three Full-Body Stretching Routines to Cool Down. After a workout, a good stretch can be the perfect way to lower your heart rate. Our guide will offer you three different routines to perform after your workout (or whenever) so you can start improving your flexibility.
How to Touch Your Toes. Since the toe touch is the go-to benchmark to see how flexible you are, we have a complete guide on getting you there. If you’ve always dreamed of being able to reach your little piggy wiggies, start here.
The most important thing you can do now?
Get to it!
You’re not going to get any more flexible by reading articles online, so pick a sequence from today and get going!
If you like our style here at Nerd Fitness, I have three great options on how you can continue your journey with us:
Option #1) If you want a professional coach in your pocket, who can do video form checks, provide feedback, and adjust your workouts based on your experience level, check out our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program!
For example, let’s say you have an old injury and couldn’t perform one of our flexibility exercises. A Nerd Fitness Coach can work with you to create a customized routine for your exact situation.
Personally, I’ve been working with the same online coach since 2015 and it’s changed my life. You can learn more by clicking on the box below:
Option #2) Exercising at home and need a plan to follow? Check out Nerd Fitness Journey!
Our fun habit-building app helps you exercise more frequently, eat healthier, and level up your life (literally).
Plus, you can take part in flexibility challenges alongside a group of nerds who are all trying to better themselves!
Try your free trial right here:
Option #3) Become part of the Rebellion!We need good people like you in our community, the Nerd Fitness Rebellion.
Sign up in the box below to enlist and get ourRebel Starter Kit, which includes all of our “work out from home” guides.
Get your Nerd Fitness Starter Kit
The 15 mistakes you don’t want to make.
Full guide to the most effective diet and why it works.
Complete and track your first workout today, no gym required.
Alright, now I want to hear from you!
Did you try our “Flexibility for the Inflexible” series?
Did you find any of the exercises easier or harder than the others?
Any tips or tricks to help the “inflexible”?
Let me know in the comments!
-Steve
P.S.Personally, I’ve found a yoga practice to be incredibly helpful in improving my mobility. We have an entire course on starting home yoga as part of Nerd Fitness Prime.
Even though we’re winding down Black History Month, we are so not done! It’s been amazing to explore the contributions and challenges of Black Americans, and a privilege to be able to provide a platform to honor their voices. And we want to end on a high note. Girl, if you’re looking for black artists to listen to, we found the perfect Spotify playlist. Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 is perfect to get your groove on while working out to the inspirational music of legendary Black music makers.
The songs on the Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 make up the soundtrack from the 2011 documentary of the same name about the Black experience in America. These powerful tunes by Black artists come from an important era of Black history.
The Deets you NEED to Know
In the decades leading up to the mid-1960s, there was some really messed up sh$#t going down in our country like full-on segregation in transportation and housing, racial discrimination in education and hiring, and sadly, senseless violence. All because of skin color.
It’s truly mind-boggling that it took the Civil Rights Act in 1964 to actually make segregation illegal. But as we know, racial oppression for African Americans didn’t stop then, and thanks to the heroic efforts of some amazing civil rights activists who F-ing fought hard for equality, laws that addressed injustice began to emerge.
Creating music was how so many Black artists were able to express themselves during this time of racial reckoning, and OMG the talent––Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Rufus & Carla Thomas!
Legions of voices and emerging sounds from the Black community lit up the airwaves from Blues, Rhythm & Soul, Funk, Reggae, R&B, Reggae, Jazz …A lot of the music reflected their cultural struggle––and also empowerment because their voices were finally being heard in politics, academia, and business (check out our post about products we love from Black-owned businesses).
6 Can’t Miss Songs
So we wanted our LSF community to immerse themselves in the zeitgeist of the era with this essential playlist. We chose six amazing songs that we thought were super cool. They will pump you up and motivate you to crush your workouts well beyond Black History Month. We are always looking for more black artists to listen to, so send them our way!
I Got You (I Feel Good): James Brown
This funk-soul classic was originally recorded in 1964 by the Godfather of Soul James Brown, but didn’t emphasize Brown’s signature screams until he re-recorded it a year later with more instruments like the sax. And single-syllable sounds haven’t been as impassioned ever since. We love warming up with this tune because it gets all pumped and into the groove. Woah!
Express Yourself: Charles Wright and the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band
After its 1970 release, this R&B song reached #12 on the Billboard charts and was nominated for a Grammy award. We love this one for its message of self-empowerment and addicting rhythm and beat.
War: Edwin Starr
The Motown label originally wrote this powerful anti-Vietnam war song for The Temptations, but then picked artist Edwin Starr to re-record. The single became a no. 1 Billboard hit in 1970 and one of the most well-known war protest songs of all time. Its lyrics, like “One, two, three, four …Get down!” will def getting you moving and help you endure when the going gets tough.
Soul Man: Sam & Dave
We all know that the Blues Brothers made this song famous on SNL in 1978, but soul duo Sam Moore & Dave Prater originally wrote and performed the song in 1967 inspired by Black pride during the turmoil of the Civil Rights Movement. This song is a motivator to keep your workout sesh going for sure.
River Deep, Mountain High: Ike and Tina Turner
Making Rolling Stone’s list of the Greatest 500 Songs of All Time, this was one of Tina Turner’s first songs attached to Phil Spector’s Philles label in 1966. Initially, the song couldn’t find a home because white stations said it was too Black, and the Black stations said it was too white, but it went on to become one of the most revered songs produced out of this era. This fast-paced tune will get you to break a sweat in no time.
(Sittin’ on the) Dock of the Bay: Otis Redding
When Otis Redding co-wrote Dock of the Bay with Nashville guitarist Steve Cropper in 1968, they knew they had something special. Sadly, the now-iconic song would be his last. Redding died in a plane crash a month later and never got to experience his success. One of the most soulful songs ever made, we think this masterpiece is perfect to help you wind down and reflect after a challenging workout.
So babes, whichever songs you choose, you can’t go wrong with any of these legendary picks. Playing these songs by influential Black artists while you work out will inspire and motivate you while you salute their artistry and reflect on the complex history Black culture in our country. Check out all the ways we celebrated Black History this month at LSF.
Are you guys feeling the love?? Now that we’re more than a week into this Lots of Love Challenge, I really do notice that I feel more positive. Taking a full week to reset my mind — and to check all the ways I can think about myself negatively — was so healthy for me!
Now that we’ve done the “Get your mind right” week, I’m really leaning into the “Get your body right” week. I know we’re only a couple of days in, but it feels GOOD. Like, yes, I’ll be honest: the sugar cravings are very real. But knowing that we’re all doing this together has definitely lessened the temptation to cave for me.
And, girls, I’ve gotta tell you from experience, when you come out the other side of this detox, you are going to feel SO MUCH better. Sugar messes with your body and your brain in so many ways. Not craving it, not even really wanting it very much, is such a freeing feeling.
And I feel like once I’m at that point, it gets easier to eat more healthily in general. Like, without sugar playing such a big role in my food choices, it’s just less hard to treat my body right with nutritious, balanced meals (like this healthy burrito recipe I’m about to give you). Plus, it’s not like we’re eating boring food, right? How good were those pancakes from Monday?? Today, I’m coming at you with another equally tasty option.
We’ve got chicken and avocado burritos on deck! And these things come together in the Instant Pot, so it’s seriously suuuuch an easy healthy burrito recipe.
We’ve got lime and salsa to kick the flavor levels up a notch, plus I swear you can make these burritos in 15 minutes. It’s a super-easy way to give yourself a balanced, protein-filled meal whenever you’re feeling hungry. This healthy burrito recipe might become a go-to for you! Want more easy and healthy recipes?? Check out our Guiltless Nutrition Guide and Recipe Book!
Ready to ride into flavor town? Here’s your healthy burrito recipe, girl!
