“It feels life-giving to remember that baby steps count. We can celebrate progress not perfection. Let’s ditch the all-or-nothing mentality…Remember that this is a journey – we are all beautiful lives in progress. There does not need to be a mad rush to the finish line. We can slow down, breathe and enjoy the process […]
Blog
Eating too much? You can blame your brain. (article by PN)
Our Nutrition Program partners, Precision Nutrition, recently released an article that has been, by far, the best piece we’ve read about: how our brains dictate so many of our food choices; how these physiological forces can lead to weight gain; and what we can do to take the power back. Sit back and take your time reading through this article. Bookmark […]
FUEL FOR FIRE + FITAID
Dear Members, Our mission is to help you look, move and feel (even) more awesome and we think a cool way to do that is through lifting heavy things. We also know the importance of recovery and feeding your worked muscles well right after your workout. For this reason, we are so excited to offer […]
Coach Mike’s 3 Favorite “Fountain of Youth” Exercises
What is so powerful about strength training? In a word…Extension. We often say that what we do in the gym “undoes the sitting position,” but it is even so much more than that! Strengthening the muscles that keep us in good posture also keep us out of pain, functioning correctly as we age and primed for sport and everyday life. Strength training, when […]
Can you Pavlov your way into fitness? (I do) :)
Have you ever considered how a child holding a beloved teddy bear can almost instantly feel safe and calm? We call these stuffed animals “lovies” in our house…I remember picking out a lovie for each of our boys when they were infants. “Lambie” was our oldest son, Cruz’s, white lamb lovie…well, not just was: is. Seven […]
What type of shoe is best for when I’m in the gym doing strength training?
In the weight room, we recommend wearing a minimalist-type shoe, often called “Cross-Trainers,” versus regular running or tennis shoes. The reason is that running shoes are not meant for lateral (side to side) movement since they are structured to only help you move forward. Additionally, and perhaps the most noticeable in the gym, when you wear […]
Orange Fluff is not a salad…and other deep thoughts.
Hello Readers; Mike here! Not two weeks ago, one of our beloved members, having a big group of family in town, messaged me to tell me how concerned he was to be off the nutritional bandwagon. Dinners out, cookouts and trips for ice cream were all on the agenda. We get it! And it got […]
PACKED shoulders = strong lifts.
A few weeks ago we introduced to the fitness world the concept of ‘lativation’ – that is, our made-up word to describe the activation of the lat muscles during exercise. 🙂 Contracting your lats (the sides of your back that form a V) creates a pull of your shoulder blades down toward your back pants pockets. This […]
Controlling Cortisol: how to lower this belly fat hormone
How to Naturally Lower the Stress Hormone: Cortisol STRESS!!! The causes are absolutely everywhere. Would you agree? Our natural “fight or flight” stress response can sometimes go a little overboard. It’s supposed to help us escape injury or death in an emergency and thenreturn to normal after we’ve fought or flew. But, since that doesn’t happen […]
MIKE-ISMS [ changing the fitness industry one made-up word at a time ]
Hey all – Mike here! If you’ve been around Valeo for any time at all, you know that rarely am I ever at a loss for words. Sometimes, I even find some extra ones! If you know anything else about me, you might know my passion for strength and the importance of posture. Some of the biggest offenders of this posture problem […]
