Melissa asked Laura and I to write up a ‘Day in the Life’ blurb showing what a typical day looks like for us. I quickly typed up a couple of spreadsheets with a timeline from my wake-up to lights out for a typical Tuesday and Wednesday. When Laura saw this she laughed and said ‘of course Bryan responded to this with a spreadsheet.’ When she told me that, I thought ‘what do you mean? How else would I do this!?’ Spreadsheets are my happy place. If I was going away for a

Melissa There is not a single day that is the same, but I do a lot of the same things every day if that makes sense! Here’s a snapshot of what a typical day looks like for me! 6:15 am Wake up! Unless one of my kids wakes up before me, I usually set my alarm for 6:15 am. Before I get out of bed, I stretch. Legs up, ankle circles, windshield wipers, and open the book. THEN I get out of bed. I chug some water and head downstairs to get breakfast ready for the kids before they wa

We hear it all the time: supplement this for that, I take this and feel great, you need ALL these supplements to feel your best. Everyone has an opinion, but here’s the thing: not all bodies are created equal. What works for one person may not work for another. We are very careful when we talk about what we eat, the supplements we take, etc because we’re all made differently and what works for us may not work for you. With that being said, we are asked a lot of questions abou

This is a story about patience and grace. Weight loss can be hard, frustrating and at times seems impossible to do. You try all the things and yet the scale doesn’t move. Did you know stress can hinder weight loss? Yep! Cortisol, also called our stress hormone, can hinder our weight loss by promoting fat storage, slowing down our metabolism, and even increasing our cravings for high-calorie “comfort” foods. Think about it, you get on the scale, it isn’t moving, you get upset,

A lot of us have wearable devices that tell us what our heart rate is at any given time. Sometimes we focus on this during our workout to understand how intense our workout was. Especially if you’re training for something intense, it’s important to understand the intensity of your workout far beyond the Rate of Perceived Exertion scale. Welcome to the Heart Rate Zones. You may have heard of this concept, but what is it exactly and how often should we focus on each zone for op

Yes we’re fitness professionals, but we’re also human and we get hurt too! We have a mixed approach to injuries and just like workouts - it’s not a one-size-fits-all remedy. You have to do a lot of things. We hear "if it hurts, don't use it" all the time and honestly, we think that's terrible advice. Suppose you have a broken bone -- yes, great advice. But that's rarely what's happening. It's not one thing -- it's all of it working together. More often, someone says "my knee

If you’re reading this, the algorithm has to have figured out you’re into wellness at least a little bit and you've probably noticed saunas are just another part of the wellness sphere that’s having a moment. And honestly, we get it. There's something pretty incredible about the fact that sitting in a hot room can do so much for your body. But not all saunas are created equal, and we've been getting more and more questions about infrared saunas specifically, so let's break it

We’ve all heard of it, some of us have tried it, but what is it really, and why are we doing it? As the name implies, cold water therapy (or cold plunging or cold water immersion) involves submerging yourself partially or completely into an icy cold bath of 50 - 59 degrees. So for some of us, that could be a bathtub filled with ice, a cold shower, immersing in a cold body of water outdoors like the ocean, or it could be at a wellness center or your own cold water immersion tu

We are not wellness influencers. We are wellness professionals. And honestly, we love this industry. We've spent decades in it, we're educated in it, we stay curious about the "new" things, which almost always stem from something old. We participate in workshops, certifications, and webinars, and we try our best to bring the relevant new things to you -- if they apply, of course. Because here's the distinction: since we've done this for most of our careers, we are able to loo

You’ve read what Melissa’s up to, now it’s Bryan and Laura! First up…Bryan! Regular readers of the blog have seen me write how I prefer to be training for something and not necessarily just working out for general health, strength, and fitness. Right now, I am training to run races through the spring, summer, and fall. (I’m signed up for my first of the season on Memorial Day weekend). Race prep includes 6 week-long blocks of running plans, run-specific strength training,