Easy Ways to Get Ride of Sciatic Pain

by Christian Bossert

Sciatic nerve pain can be maddening. You work hard all day. Answer hundreds of emails, and work yourself to death. At the end of the day you drive home and there is this thrusting pain from your lower back down to your knee. What the heck is going on!?

Nearly 40% of the population will get sciatica, or irritation of the sciatic nerve. at some point in their life. Anything that puts pressure on or irritates this nerve can cause pain that shoots down that back of one buttock or thigh. Pain may be made worse by prolonged sitting, standing up, coughing, sneezing, twisting, lifting, or straining. Treatment for sciatic pain ranges from hot and cold packs and medications to exercises. Exercise is where we will focus because anyone can do these exercises at home and see remarkable results (Ratini 2012). 

Strengthening our core muscles helps ease the pain of sciatica. You will find that even the simplest exercises will help us relieve sciatic pain. Try these three strength training exercises. Hold each for 90 seconds.

1) Wall Sit

2) Plank on forearms

3) Leg lift (Legs straight, knees straight, heels directly above hips, back flat on ground

A regular routine of hamstring exercises can benefit most types of sciatica. Try to hold the hamstring stretch for at least 30 seconds. 

Here is a video with three GREAT exercises to help sciatic pain. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htgyPKNHUls

7 Simple Ways to Get Summer Body Ready

by: Christian Bossert

Losing weight, losing inches, losing fat...some make it look soo easy. In reality it is hard for most of us to get into what we deem as beach body material. 

In our highly critical social media world we are flooded with pictures of people who look amazing. This is indubitably demoralizing when were sitting on the couch watching Netflix and eating a pizza. 

We are human, The stresses of everyday life get to us and its easy to fall off the fit and healthy eating wagon. I have found numerous techniques to help in that process, which I'll share with you now. 

Feel free to use all, some or none of them. Your entitled to do whatever you want. You WILL lose inches and discover the muscle tone everybody is after if you do follow this simple list.

1. Strength Training 

If you want a hot beach body, this is non-negotiable. Fit your workout in, no excuses! Commit to a full-body strength training program two to three times per week to burn calories during the workout and boost your metabolism. You will continue to burn calories for the next 48 hours after a strength training session

TIP: Try working out in the morning. This will increase your metabolism and set the tone for a healthy and successful day. You will hit beach body status if you incorporate working out in the morning to your daily routine.

2. Walk

Every step matter. Apply thirty minutes of moderate walking to your strength training routine and watch the magic begin. Your body will become tighter. You will have more energy. Your stress level will go down. As a result of all this, binge eating and stress-related sweets indulging will vanish.   

Tip: Walk thirty minutes six days a week. Good fitting walking shoes and walking buddy are a plus!

3. Drink Plenty of Water 

I cannot stress this one enough. For one, our bodies will trick us into thinking we're hungry when we're 2-3% dehydrated. Staying hydrated will help you stay away from unwanted sweets and keep you on track to get that beach body. Drink half your  bodyweight in ounces of water daily.

TIP: Drink 16oz of chilled water as soon as you wake up. It will BOOST your metabolism for the next 90 minutes!!!

4. Make Sleep a Priority 

Everybody knows sleep is important. I would guess that 95% of working adults believe that they do not get enough sleep. Most need between 7 and 9 hours of rest each night. Get less than that and our bodies react in ways that lead even the most determined dieter straight to that tub of ice cream. 

TIP: Click here for simple tips to help you get more sleep. 

5. Get a Workout Buddy

Accountability is super important when it comes to hitting your fitness goals. Justifying taking a day off is difficult when you have someone counting on you. Leaving your pal hanging just isn't cool. Click here to learn more about the power of combining a friend with your fitness goals. 

TIP: Set yourself up for success by picking a buddy with similar goals and work ethic. An emotional connection is a plus. A workout buddy doesn't have to be your best friend, but it definitely has to be someone you trust and won't disappoint you.  

6. Keep a Food Journal

People who keep a food journal tend to eat healthier and in turn lose more weight than those who do not keep a food journal. This is a really simple step that takes less than 5 minutes a day. My clients are always amazing at how tight and toned their bodies get over time when they commit to a food journal.

TIP: Here is a simple way to document what you eat.  

7. Believe 

This is hands-down the MOST important step. Get clear on how you want to look when you reach your perfect weight. Get pictures of yourself at your perfect weight, if you have them, and look at them often. If not, get pictures of the body you would like to have and look at those often. 

You must believe that you will receive the summer body you want. You MUST imagine, pretend, act as if, that perfect body is yours. You MUST see yourself as receiving that perfect body. 

Make it a point to look for, admire, and inwardly praise people with your idea of perfect-weight bodies. Seek them out and as you admire them and feel the feelings of that-you are summoning it to you. Focus on the pleasurable experience of eating, the food is assimilated into our bodies perfectly, and the result in our bodies MUST be perfection. FOCUS on YOUR perfect weight.