most of us have it down with training and nutrition for our wellness / physique goals. maybe you have an awesome workout program and are killing it at meal prep - amazing! this covers some huge pieces of the puzzle, but did you know there are other factors impacting your progress as well? like:
- overall recovery (sleep, hydration, sufficient calorie intake)
- stress management
- gut health
let’s dive into why these impact results and how to optimize them:
- overall recovery
here’s the deal - we can have the perfect training split but if we’re not able to recover from those workouts, it’s basically pointless! poor recovery slows muscle gain since the fibers aren’t able to repair, and stalls fat loss since it places a heavy load of stress on the body. we need to make sure we’re recovering just as well as we’re performing in the gym.
tips to improve your recovery:
- make sure you’re eating enough, with a variety of nutrients
- ensure 7-9 hours of sleep per night
- take your rest days! 2-3 per week is the general recommendation
- stay hydrated and get in your electrolytes!
beam’s perfect duo for the best recovery: super greens + recovery aminos. super greens gives you 26 fruits and vegetables in one scoop to hit that nutrient variety. don’t be weary of the taste either - flavors like cherry limeade and pink lemonade make it so tasty to get in micros.
recovery aminos provide the electrolytes and antioxidants your body needs for overall energy production, metabolism, and muscle repair. with this duo, it’s so simple to check your recovery box.
- stress management
when we talk about stress management, we don’t just mean bubble baths or face masks. stress goes beyond the feeling of overwhelm! our bodies can feel stress from:
- overtraining
- undereating
- micronutrient deficiencies
- work / life pressure
high stress levels prevent our body from progressing towards our goals because when cortisol (our stress hormone) is elevated, the body is in a constant sympathetic (fight or flight) state. when this happens, the body uses all available energy for only essential functions, not including metabolism or muscle building. this also causes inflammation, slows down digestion, impairs sleep and increases feelings of anxiety.
to manage our stress, we want to focus on getting out of a sympathetic state (fight or flight) to a parasympathetic state (rest and digest). these tools will help:
- deep breathing practices
- meditation
- walks outside in the sunlight
when we’re able to manage our stress, results are easier to achieve because our body finally feels safe!
- gut health
our gut is responsible for two huge things:
- digestion and absorption of food, and
- hormone production
if our gut isn’t in a good spot, we aren’t able to absorb the food we’re eating. if it’s not absorbed, our body’s not able to put it to use! if we’re trying to build or maintain muscle but our body can’t absorb food because our gut health is trash, we’ll have a very hard time making progress.
poor gut health also means many of the hormones needed to regulate our metabolism aren’t being produced properly.
how do we improve our gut?
- many methods for this involve stress management:
- eating enough with micronutrient variety!
- staying hydrated
- 7-9 hours of sleep per night
- going for walks outside
- taking rest days
- limiting caffeine
- taking a probiotic to improve microbiome health
beam’s gut health probiotic+ has 8 probiotic strains to improve the microbiome, plus ginger root, licorice root and digestive enzymes to help with motility and symptoms of acid reflux!
heal your gut and physique progress becomes 20x easier and faster
nailing your recovery, stress management, and gut health doesn’t have to be super challenging. beam’s super greens, recovery aminos, and gut health probiotic+ take away so much of the guess work, making it a breeze to implement healthy habits.
when you give your body what it needs, results flow seamlessly!