Gifts for the fitness enthusiast.

In this blog I’ll discuss what poor sleep does to our health and exercise performance, review strategies for mitigating the effects of a bad night’s sleep, and conclude with some sustainable, longer term solutions that you can start implementing today. Some of them will be new, others will feel like advice you’ve read 100 times. As you read through, be honest with yourself - do you actually do all these things, or just know you should be doing them?

If you’ve been wondering what to buy me or my clients…or what to add to your fitness holiday wishlist…

Here are some items I’m eyeing this year -- and some I already own that I’d recommend as gifts!

Many people think that if a muscle is tight, it needs to be stretched rather than strengthened. Really, that muscle probably needs to be stretched AND strengthened - at a longer range of motion. A muscle feels tight partly because its only strong through a very limited range of motion.

Completely forgoing physical activity is hard for those of us who rely on movement and exercise for mental health. Here are four big reasons that I think it’s smart, responsible, and actually good for your long term fitness to take at least 10 completely sedentary days (yes, i said it - completely sedentary - that’s right, sit yourself down).

People are typically highly motivated to train core - whether its for aesthetic reasons, to lift heavier weight, or just to avoid low back pain at work.

The frustration comes because it’s often hard to know whether you’re doing it right.

Deloading is a term for programming intentionally light weeks of exercise periodically - either in strength or in endurance sport. If you aren’t super familiar with workout programming, I recommend asking a coach you trust if deloading would benefit you. If necessary, they can help you to implement it in your program.

Here are things I love that have really helped me with my health and wellness routine. Ask for them or get them for someone in your life thats looking to step up their game.

Recovery between workouts is just as important for your health - and your progress - as the time you spend in the gym. The time we spend training depletes energy stores and breaks the body down while the time spent recovering properly allows our bodies to rebuild muscle stronger than befoe and replenish energy stores. Without both adequate training stimulus AND adequate rest, our progress is limited and our potential for injury increases.

I post a lot of small stuff on Instagram, but ultimately I care more about consolidating that info onto my blog where I can easily reference it for you all far into the future! So, I’m going to start to pair my instagram posts with blog posts so you can share and save more easily. Here are a few useful topics I’ve covered lately on Fit with Julia IG.

Cardiovascular training is important for everyone because cardiovascular health is important for everyone. It’s important regardless of your primary fitness goals.

In this post, we’ll revisit the basics to clear confusion, come up with an effective plan to help you go from zero structured cardio to the recommended amount in a sustainable manner, discuss various weekly schedule options, and end by answering some common questions.