Think Fit. Be Fit.

Holiday traveling, celebrations, or time of year can be a results killer for a healthy lifestyle. We’ve collectively worked hard all year, let’s avoid putting a dent in our momentum.  Katie of No Limits Fitness and Health in Indiana and Jenn of Impact Your Fitness in the DC metro area discuss their ideas and experience around travelling ,jollying over the holidays, and helping our clients hold onto their hard work.     What you’ll learn in this episode: Making time for yourself is important Simple and practical tips for setting yourself up for a relaxing holiday Ideas for planning and protecting your self-improvement process   Free download on the Impact Your Fitness blog Jenn & Katie’s https://www.impactyourfitness.net/blog (“Holiday Checklist”)   Links of interest: https://www.nolimitsfitnessandhealth.com/ (https://www.nolimitsfitnessandhealth.com/) https://www.facebook.com/katienolimits/ (https://www.facebook.com/katienolimits/) https://www.facebook.com/ImpactYourFitness/

This episode has it all! Which includes but not limited to: philosophy, learning, cadavers, and choosing your friends. Jenn is hosting an incredible woman, Nathaly Granja. She is a Mindset Coach and Energy Alchemist who uses  coaching in combination with Reiki and Hypnotherapy to help people choose their life upgrades.  She’s also Jenn’s coach and confidant. Enjoy this relaxed and open conversation about being curious and enjoying the process. Links of interest: Email to be on our list for Jenn’s Daily Movement Practice, jenn@impactyourfitness.net Follow Nathaly Granja at  https://www.instagram.com/nathalygranja_/ Follow Jenn Schwartz at  https://www.instagram.com/impact_your_fitness/

Over the past decade the fitness industry has become a $27 billion dollar industry.  Within that there are many low to moderate priced options as well as higher end products.  This means there is a lot of opportunity to grow as well as waste money on ill-advised products and services.  Going from fringe to mainstream in 20 years makes for a lot of self-validating used car salesman, one can become a fitness expert with almost no training and an instagram account.  The goal of Think Fit. Be Fit. Podcast is to educate our listeners so that they are in control of their health because of smart decisions about their fitness investments.  Let Jenn help you navigate inside an industry full of lies.   What's the difference between overpaying for personal trainers and taking part of a process of self-mastery that will reveal your best body?  This isn’t a trick question, it’s simply asking better questions about your process and about your body, anatomy, physiology.  We believe in empowering our clients and listeners w

We all love a good sweat but do we enjoy getting in all the protein that is required to lose fat and grow muscle?  Finding the right nutrition for your body and environment is a steady state experiment that requires good questions, thoughtful but informed variables, and curiosity. Join Miranda and Jenn for a chat on nutrition, plant sourced protein, and some common myths around eating vegan.  Miranda Wall D.C. and nutritionist is a dedicated vegan, yogi, muscle lover and professionally provides injury care for all types of athletes.  This podcast episode covers a wide range of nutrition tips and making healthy decisions. Words of wisdom from Dr Miranda "Be proud of the hard work you put into your body. You don’t have to feel ashamed or self conscious, no matter what your size or shape is. Your body is an ever changing work of art. Shape it in whatever way makes you feel your best.”  What you’ll learn in this episode: The difference between dietician and nutritionist Tips on a smoothie design Diary is

The foundations of good health are quality sleeping, eating, and breathing.  We believe that exercise is a lens to visualize and live your most healthy life, however without spending time on education about your sleep you are potentially not going to enjoy being fit.   The bottom line is clear.  Use our resources to learn more about your sleep! If you are attempting to lose weight- sleep impacts your hormones If you are attempting to gain strength- sleep impacts your ability to grow muscle If you are attempting to exercise 3 days per week and have a full time job- sleep impacts your memory, mood, and attention span.   Today’s episode Sleep and Recovery are no joke is essentially a warm-up for a deep conversation on the importance of sleep, nutrition and rest.     Jenn is hosting Dr. Miranda Wall of @downwardfacingdoc https://www.mirandawall.com/ to discuss the importance of sleep and recovery.     Links of interest: Study on athletes and sleep Chronic inflammation and sleep Sleep book recommend

Your future depends on asking questions about your body. It's the only way to advocate for your health and build an intelligent exercise approach.  This is the first Q&A episode with Jenn. "What is exercise supposed to feel like"? Unfortunately we've been taught to rely on sensations to teach us about exercise. This simply isn't helpful and most importantly it could be causing a cycle of constant exercise without results, or worse, a cycle of injury and inflammation.  You have a unique body, therefore your exercise should be unique to you! This Q&A is the first of many, so keep the questions coming. Hit the link below to ask a question!  Links to check out: https://www.instagram.com/p/bo146frbicp/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet Ask questions HERE! Learn more about your stress tolerance https://www.hrv4training.com  

The ultimate fitness hack is building results that promote success. Most people feel resistance when setting goals and creating fitness based habits. What if success is possible without feeling the constrictions of saying no to yourself over and over again?  This episode is Jenn’s perspective on the necessary steps to reframe goal setting struggles and turn it into a healthy body.  What you’ll learn in this episode: The 5 Mental Models that I used for a year of consistent fat loss without too much friction or pain.   Positive thinking is not a necessity for fat loss. Purposeful action comes from strategic thinking Mentioned in this episode: Work in progress instagram post- I lost almost 10% body fat in a year https://www.instagram.com/p/BoulSDYhTlg/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet 12:35 The human brain weighs about 3 pounds ~ 2% of body weight 15:10 Conscious Language upgrades to increase conscious communicating Reasons to upgrade your language choices https://www.ted.com/

While a “no pain, no gain” mentality can be admirable in some ways, your body might not agree with this approach. You may feel sore after a rewarding workout, but this soreness isn’t a requirement for getting stronger or improving your physique. Just like with stretching, exercise science doesn’t confirm that soreness is safe, effective, or useful in attaining your fitness goals. In this episode of Think Fit. Be Fit, Jenn explores how many people learn the myth of soreness as an indicator of a good workout as well as the sensations of muscle soreness. Soreness is highly correlated with muscle weakness, so when your muscles are sore from a previous workout, you may be predisposed to injuries from overexertion. If your goals are building strength and feeling your best, then soreness can be an enemy if you allow it to persist. What you’ll learn in this episode: Becoming your own fitness expert means dismantling old assumptions Common myths about building muscles and strength Evaluating your workouts based

It’s easier to enjoy exercise when you set yourself up for success in an environment that suits you. Finding that environment (race course, in the mud, on the beach, in the gym) means exploring and experimenting. This episode is a conversation with Jenn Schwartz and Rachel Garmon. While it’s full of laughter about Rachel’s miserable running stories, it also has an important message. When it comes to being in control of your physical fitness, learning and taking calculated risks transforms fear to courage and uncertainty to confidence.  The opposite, staying complacent and drifting, might be one of the reasons many people end up with exercise related injuries and why millions of hours in the gym are fruitless. Rachel and Jenn mention ‘broken people’ and failing in pursuit of goals.  They also mention breaking through mental barriers and a successful zero miles to a marathon training story.  Please enjoy and share your stories with #thinkfitbefit hashtag. What you will learn in this episode: Exercise and c

The dictionary defines fallacy as "a mistaken belief, especially one based on unsound argument". The biggest fallacy in fitness, an error in reasoning about how we approach exercise, is that exercise and training are the same thing. In one viewpoint, exercise is a 'thing we do' for benefit and on the other side of this argument, 'training is a process'for an extensive period of time. However, the issue is that we use the terms interchangeably. How can we be so specific about our goals, but not identify what is required to do so? In this episode, hang out with Jenn and Rachel as they describe how most exercisers are wasting their time with 'clock-in, clock-out' exercise routines. The premise that repetitive exercise alone is a large variable in creating a cascade of wellness benefits is a big misconception. This is also the mindset of the professional exerciser. The professional exerciser will lack focus, increase their chance of injury and burnout, and worst of all, they will waste their time on futile exerc

Most of us have physical limitations. The Mayo Clinic, surveyed 144,000 patients in 2013 to assess the reason they had visited a doctor. According to their research, 2 of the top 3 reasons patients were going to see their doctor are related to arthritic joint pain and lower back pain.   Limitations create self-doubt and therefore a lack of fitness participation. Exercise and your mental model of fitness can co-create a relationship with physical limitations, positive and negative ones.   Finding a healthy fitness relationship when you have limitation starts by asking better questions that will compile better feedback and data.  The results can be empowering and tools for future fitness quests. In my world, this type of progress has no sign of slowing down. Data driven fitness is a key for a self-improvement mindset. In this episode follow Jenn’s fitness journey as she describes how she squats deep, coaches athletes, and exercises without pain despite having torn ligaments and arthritis in her knees.   Ass

Sustainable healthy habits require more than intention, it’s being humble and open to the process of change. The readiness to change means getting out of your own way.  This is a process that you must own by letting go of your bias (what you think you know about fitness) and forgiving yourself of past failures. In this episode of 'Lab of Me" Jenn talks through using self-acceptance and the Strategic Goal Grid as a way to make your process of self-growth and fitness goals a successful one.     What you'll learn from this episode: - A useful tool for gaining a professional mindset on goal-setting and achievement - How I have organized my limitations to conquer them or work around them - Some cool assessment products that utilize DNA, blood work, and body fat analysis   Featured on the show: Come hang out on Instagram with me! @impact_your_fitness Let’s chat on Twitter!  @jennimpact Download a copy of the Strategic Goal Grid, email: jenn.impactfitnessdc@gmail.com Do you need help with avoiding hand

It all comes down to this: it's not what you do, but how you do it.  Here's a breath of fresh air: Exercise is a response to a demand. And the fact is that the more you understand the mechanisms of the response and controls of the demand, the more results you will have to celebrate and the more progress you can make.  Enter the Think Fit Be Fit. model to applying exercise physiology to everyday fitness.   You probably aren't the only one worried about a nebulous workout goal: lose weight/burn calories/insert latest toning trend. A fixed mindset on long-term changes or your human potential is a quick recipe for losing focus and going off-track especially when it comes to nebulous fitness goals.     What you'll learn from this episode: -My authentic practice on mindset for long-term and consistent results. -There are scientific research publications that show isometric exercise can impact muscle growth and decrease pain in very little time. -How I explain to my clients that they can embrace small changes

Finding the right balance in your warm-up can be confusing.  Join Jenn and Katie on a discussion of finding the right amount of body awareness, ensuring exercise safety, and building confidence to take some risk despite old injuries.     In this episode of Lab of Us Jenn talks with her Muscle Activation Techniques™ colleague, Katie Wiggs of Indianapolis.  Katie is not only an MAT™ specialist with a holistic approach to full-body wellness and pain-free exercise, she is an experienced endurance athlete and obstacle race competitor.     Jenn and Katie offer sage advice on overcoming obstacles, mental and physical, when it comes to formulating a good warm-up.  They also dive into a specific type of strength training, Progressive Loading or Progressive Overloading that Katie and Jenn both believe is the secret to a strong body and gym longevity.   As you listen, keep an ear out for these highlights throughout the Podcast: 2:15 meet Katie Wiggs, Master Level MAT™ specialist in Indianapolis, Be Your own Super

As if exercise isn't good enough- when perceived benefits are matched with specific and perhaps measurable goals there are even more wins.  In this episode Jenn Schwartz of Impact Your Fitness and Producer Ted talk through a little known phenomena called Post Activation Potentiation and how to get it into your warm-up strategy. Most of us know that a good warm-up can contribute to a safe workout.  That might be just well enough for some people, but for those of us that want to feel and look good, the warm-up time is a great opportunity to take advantage of the 'human adaptation machine'.  The best warm-ups for our exercise can occur when science and sound logic create a simple sophisticated muscle activation upgrade that enhances your workout, insures you against injury and elicits health-inducing benefits. Where to find Jenn Follow on Instagram Follow on Medium Here’s a rundown of episode #08 11:40 Warming up ideas that stick with us 14:00 #SpockyourWarmup  when you want health benefits and hormone pr

In this episode of Lab of You- the best ways to warm up- Jenn covers the necessity of a warm-up that can help with injury prevention and priming a meaningful workout.  Jenn Schwartz of Impact Your Fitness, believes that exercise can be enjoyable, healthy, fun, and beneficial without being painful or questionable.     You don't need to reinvent the wheel to formulate a quality warm-up.  It can be as simple as being more precise in your workout intentions and implementing a congruent and progressive exercise strategy.   Think of warm ups as transitions- mentally and physically- to a health-inducing or arduous sport-arousing workout.   Here's the 3 step process with the end in mind that exercise should feel good and that some self-experimentation could be the key to a solid warm-up.  Compare and take note of your 'range of motion', what's available on the left side of the body vs the right and vice versa  Mobilize the tight areas, if necessary, and identify the safe zone for moving optimally  Optimize

Jenn is hosting her weightlifting coach Rachel for a talk on building trust and confidence with the body through weightlifting.  This is packed full of vision, reflection, humility and commitment. Weightlifting in this sense is Olympic Lifting.  The conversation is about empowerment of a strong physical body and the fat losses being a secondary benefit. Jenn and Rachel discuss this and much more about their journeys to strong. Part 1 0-Jenn's long intro and reflection 6:15 Rachel's intro and weightlifting 7:45 Our way to zen Part 2 10:20 Fuel the fire of trust, weightlifting builds courage and patience.  It's therapeutic properties. 16:13 Rachel discusses her experience with endometriosis, hypothyroidism and exercise 20:10 Listening to your body is important! Takeaway tips 22:30 Addiction and exercise to seeing the light of body empowerment Part 3 24:00 Managing a lifting mindset while dealing with chronic issues 25:13 Nervous system and menstrual cycle role in mindset and mindfulness 26:58 Tho

There’s no way to prove what is ‘proper stretching technique’. So why is stretching advice handed out to everyone that kicks a ball or steps into a gym?  Jenn Schwartz of Impact Your Fitness has been asking this question for years.  This episode and references below speak for itself.  Jenn talks through how her experience with anatomy and 1000’s of hours helping people with muscle flexibility concerns shaped her philosophy on stretching.     Shownotes 1:33 The word stretch is misused! 3:15 Sensation of stretching vs. reality 4:16 6 myths about stretching, “Stretching debunked” by Paul Ing 7:30 Research and stretching- how much exists? 10:35  Definition of stretching 13:00 What’s the difference between a hamstring stretch and a deadlift? 14:30 Underperforming muscles contribute to the ‘need’ to stretch 17: 56 One of my replacements for general stretching advice   Links “Quite a Stretch” by Paul Ingraham.  This link contains several references that “We are Stretching for all the wrong reasons” by

Can you imagine having your own exercise guidebook with notes tailored for your body? In this episode of Lab of You, we’ll show you how to get started writing your book or how to improve what you already have. Fitness beginners and experienced lifters alike will benefit from this new way of thinking about exercise.   The first step of this process is thinking of exercise as a challenge to the body, and as we control the variables better, the outcome becomes more predictable. Then, you can start gaining clarity of your exercise choices. Instead of listening to generic and overrated advice, you can start navigating on a higher level, understanding the risks and benefits of different types of exercise. Just like an investment portfolio, knowing which exercise is worth the risk and which brings the most benefit can pay off big dividends.   Overall, our main idea for this LOY is that all exercises exist on a continuum. This concept comes from Tom Purvis, owner of the Resistance Training Specialist, whose clas

Why do we constantly chase after a goal in our fitness endeavors? Perhaps we are reaching for the flow state. In this episode of “Lab of Us,” I had the opportunity to speak with Robyn Kenney, a Hall of Famer, former international athlete, peak performance expert and mental training coach.  She is the lead instructor at MindBody Athletics in Alexandria, Virginia, where she offers private sessions and team-based training for coaches and athletes. Robyn also frequently provides organizations a four-week mindfulness courses on-location. One of Think Fit. Be Fit.’s goals is to explore the facets that make exercise magical. While there’s no question that our bodies can positively respond to exercise, creating a healthy relationship with longevity-focused exercise needs to include fun and play. The tool that can make this a reality is called flow state.   Flow state is an engaged and connected state of consciousness. Harnessing the flow state in a positive way can be the secret ingredient to success, high perform