Back with us is Dr. Jolene Brighten!

Dr. Jolene Brighten is a prominent expert in women’s medicine and leads the world in the emerging science of Post-Birth Control Syndrome — studying the effects of hormonal birth control on female health. 

Dr. Brighten and I are both strong advocates for empowering women to feel their best. The reality is this, within the US, only 17 states require sex education to be accurate! Isn’t that crazy? You deserve to understand your own body! 

If you’re someone like me who has been on birth control for 5, 10, 15 years, this one is for you! We break down the steps and best practices when it comes to making decisions for your body. Dr. Brighten answers these questions below, and so many more! 

• What are the steps to get off birth control?
• What other options are out there for natural birth control?
• What are synthetic hormones + how do they affect your body and your cycle?
• Are there dietary or lifestyle changes that I can make to help my body recover from birth control. 
• How can you address your hormonal imbalance?
• What does the gut have to do with everything?

Listen Now

Find more from me:

Instagram: @morgan.a.kline

Facebook: @morgankline

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Thank you so much for joining me for a cup of Coffee & Kettlebells!

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1. You don’t need to wait to become the perfect version of yourself to be happy.

Oftentimes, we prioritize reaching a goal so much so that we forget about our happiness in the whole equation. The focus centers on the weight we still have to lose or the definition we want to see, and we aren’t happy with ourselves until it happens. We close ourselves off to experiencing life and relationships around us so that we can finally get from point A to B—essentially, we equate our happiness with a goal. We spend so much time measuring ourselves up, punishing ourselves and feeling guilty for not being “perfect” when, in reality, you don’t have to wait to become this “perfect” version of yourself before you start loving yourself and truly enjoying your life. You’re allowed to be happy while you continue to evolve and improve. You don’t need a number on a scale, a number of reps, a number of miles or an amount of weight you can lift to feel validated.

Personally, I believe I’ll be the “perfect” version of myself when I am able to just enjoy exactly who I am in the present moment. This is the version of myself I am striving to become. Continue working toward your goal, but in the meantime, embrace, own, accept, love and just enjoy being who you are right now. There is only one of you and we have one life to live, so allow yourself to be happy!

2. No matter how far you still have to go, you’re allowed to celebrate how far you have come.

You’ve heard it before: “It’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey.” When we focus too much on how far we have to go, we forget to realize how far we have come. We could be leaps and bounds further along in our journey than we were just a few months ago but not take the time to stop and celebrate all that we have achieved in the process.

We get this picture in our heads of exactly who we want to be, how we want to look and where we want to go. We work hard and we persevere every single day to get closer to becoming that picture in our head, but it’s not always about the end goal. There is so much to be proud of yourself for while you are on the way to where you are going. Take a moment right now. Look at yourself; look how far you have come. Remember that person who chose to start? You are that person. Be proud of that person. Celebrate that person.

Next time you get stuck thinking about how far you still have to go, challenge your perspective. Regardless of how far you are from the person you want to be and the place you want to go, you have come so far and that deserves recognition!

Don’t let the person you want to be stand in the way of celebrating the person you are now. Even though you may have more to go, your hard work is worth it, your hard work shows and your hard work has paid off!

3. You are your own kind of beautiful.

Stop comparing yourself to others. We are all guilty of this—I’ll be the first to admit that I do it too! Truth is, we were all born with different hair textures, eye colors, metabolisms and body frames, and every one of these things makes us beautifully unique. We are our own person. No one is just like you—how cool is that? You are you, and no one else can be you no matter how hard they try. We have to remember this when we find ourselves wishing we had what someone has or could do what someone else does. When we strive to be like someone else, it is a million more times difficult to be happy with who we were uniquely made to be.

If you take away anything from this blog post, I want you to know that who you are, every single part, is unbelievably beautiful. You are too pretty and too smart to act like you are not. You may look at yourself in the mirror and not think twice about the reflection you see, but what you aren’t seeing is the beauty others see in you. It’s time for you to look at yourself in a new way—we see it, now it’s your turn. Go ahead and tell yourself how beautiful you are! Do it today, and every day after that.

4. Who you are as a person is way more important than the way you look.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that no one is going to love you more for losing 20 pounds or having a six-pack. Those things are great goals, but the things that have a lasting impression are your character, values, actions, positivity, happiness, love and everything that’s inside you.

That five pounds you gained or lost weighs a lot less than the smile on your face and the passion in your heart. People around you don’t care about the number on your scale and probably don’t even think about it. So, stop torturing yourself and letting the way you look dictate your attitude. It’s more important to live a life that keeps you smiling and keeps others smiling than a life that keeps you obsessing over your weight. Remember what really matters.

5. You are strong, capable, beautiful, significant and more than enough.

You are! Stop telling yourself otherwise. Even when it feels like you aren’t, I hope there is at least a small part of you that believes you are. You may not be able to see it today, but others see it every day. Others see every ounce of greatness within you—more greatness than you will ever know. Never forget that.

If you know someone who needs to hear one of these reminders, share this post with them. If you’re more of a podcast person, you can download the podcast episode that goes along with this post and listen to it on those days when you need a pick-me-up.

Also, if you didn’t know, I have a cooking show called Morgan Makes It where I show you how cooking and eating healthy can be simple, quick and still so delicious. I release a new recipe every single Monday, which can be found on Burn Boot Camp’s YouTube channel. Go check it out if you are ready to start eating healthy and don’t know where to begin or if your diet is feeling stale and you are looking for new, fun and healthy ways to change it up!

If you liked this post, you’ll also love…

You’re working out regularly, eating healthy and still not seeing results or losing weight. Or maybe you were seeing amazing results and now you seem to be stuck at a standstill. Either way, you’re frustrated because you are putting in so much effort and can’t figure out why you aren’t getting where you want to be. Check out these 11 reasons you might not be seeing results or losing weight.

1. Do you overeat healthy foods?

We know how delicious almond butter is, and yes, it is healthy for you—but spoonful after spoonful is not! Regardless of the quality of the foods you are eating, portion size remains essential. One serving size of almond butter is two tablespoons, not two heaping scoops. This easily doubles or even triples your fat and calorie intake, and when that’s done with each food at every meal, you’ll end up overeating! Just because a food is considered healthy, it does not give you an excuse to eat too much of it. At the end of the day, a calorie is a calorie and consuming more calories than you expend could be the reason you are not seeing results and losing weight.

2. Do you overeat “healthy” processed foods?

Beware of packaged foods with labels that say vegan, gluten-free, low-carb, low-calorie, low-fat, high-fiber, high-protein, keto-friendly, paleo-friendly, whole-grain, organic or natural. This does not automatically mean these foods are healthy. Many of these products are filled with processed ingredients and could be a reason you aren’t seeing results and losing weight. In most cases, protein pancakes, keto donuts, gluten-free pizza and vegan ice cream are not any healthier than the real deal. Always read the list of ingredients to determine whether the product is actually healthy before falling for its nutritional claims.

3. Are you too unrestricted on the weekends?

You work out hard and eat healthy during the week and deserve to treat yourself, right? So you allow yourself to loosen up on the weekends, unrestrict yourself and indulge in your favorite foods and drinks. Let’s say you start enjoying yourself Friday after work and indulge throughout the entire weekend—that ends up being roughly 35% of your diet. No matter how much you work out or how active you are during the week, for most of us, it’s extremely difficult to outtrain a bad diet. Don’t allow your weekends to be the reason why you are not seeing results and losing weight! Pick one day or a couple meals a week—not the entire weekend—to eat whatever you want in moderation.

4. Do you not eat enough carbs?

Did you know for every one gram of carbohydrates you eat, your body retains three grams of water? So when you drop your carbohydrate intake, the weight loss you experience is primarily from losing water weight. Cutting carbs temporarily may be beneficial for weight loss, but long term it can cause serious problems, especially if you work out regularly.

Many women are sensitive to carbohydrate restriction, causing hormone imbalances that ultimately lead to weight gain. Long-term low-carb diets can decrease thyroid function. As proper thyroid function is directly related to a healthy metabolism, when your thyroid function goes down, your metabolism follows. A low-carb diet also increases stress hormone levels, which can lead to a slower metabolism and increase your appetite and food cravings. It also causes a drop in your muscle-building hormone levels, placing your body in a catabolic state, breaking down muscle rather than building it.

5. Do you over-exercise and not take time to recover?

You may believe that during your workouts you are building muscle and losing excess body fat. What you are actually doing is tearing your muscle fibers and breaking them down. Muscle growth occurs when your body is at rest. Training every single day or hitting the gym twice a day causes you to be in a perpetual state of muscle breakdown, meaning you are continuously losing muscle and never building it.

Overtraining also leaves your body in a chronic state of stress, which negatively affects your hormone levels. These hormone imbalances can elevate your blood sugar, increase your food cravings, heighten your appetite, alter your digestion and slow your metabolism. If you are not seeing results and losing weight, try giving your muscles time to rest, recover and rebuild between workout sessions.

6. Are you not working out hard enough?

Working out every day is amazing for your health, but picking up the same set of dumbells week in and week out or simply going through the motions of each exercise may be the reason you are not seeing results and losing weight. Your body is smart and learns to adapt to the stress it is regularly put under. This is referred to as the SAID principle (Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands).

Let’s say you did lunges holding 15-pound dumbbells for the first time. Doing so shocked your body and forced it to figure out how to adapt to this new stress by recruiting more muscle fibers and building more muscle. As you continue to use 15-pound dumbbells, your body no longer becomes shocked and doesn’t need to adapt.

If you want your body to change, you have to encourage it by picking up the 20-pound dumbbells. Ensure you are pushing yourself hard enough in your workouts by recording the weight you used, the number of breaks you took and the amount of reps and sets you performed. Work toward beating those numbers to see results and lose weight.

7. Do you track calories burned?

Do you use a fitness tracker to count the number of calories you burn in your workouts? It is a fun stat to follow, but it might not be accurate. Studies have shown that fitness trackers have a large margin of error when it comes to estimating calories burned, somewhere between 20% and 93%! Use these devices to keep you motivated and to gain a general idea of how many calories you burn, but do not rely on them completely. Especially do not add the given total calories burned to your daily caloric intake. With such a potentially large margin of error, doing so can lead to consuming way more calories than you actually burn and may be the reason you are not seeing results and losing weight.

8. Do you use too many condiments?

In many cases, when people add more vegetables, complex carbohydrates and clean sources of protein to their diet, they smother them with condiments to add taste. Most dressings and sauces are packed with processed sugars and oils. Processed sugar spikes your blood sugar, triggering your fat-storing hormone, leading to excess fat storage.

Processed oils are unrecognizable in your body and unable to be broken down into a usable form of energy, also leading them to be stored as body fat. These effects greatly outweigh the benefits of eating more whole foods and may be the reason why you are not seeing results and losing weight. You’re better off making your own condiments from organic, high-quality olive oil, coconut oil, nuts and seeds, tahini, avocados, hummus or tofu to ensure you are fueling weight loss, not weight gain.

9. Do you eat too few calories?

In order to lose weight, you need to create a calorie deficit. But if you cut your calories too low, you will experience the reverse effect. When you eat fewer calories, your body catches on and begins burning fewer calories as well. Your body is unsure as to when it will get more food, so it slows down the metabolism to store body fat rather than burn it. This can cause long-term damage to your metabolism and should be avoided. Signs you are not consuming enough food include lack of energy, hair loss, constant hunger, loss of menstrual cycle, feeling cold, irritability, constipation and anxiety. The average adult woman requires approximately 1,400 calories a day to fuel basic bodily functions, which means you should consume roughly 1,400 calories a day if you are not engaging in any physical activity. The more intense your workouts, the more calories your body will begin to require.

10. Do you not sleep enough?

Depriving yourself of sleep may be the reason you are not seeing results and losing weight. When you’re sleeping, your body releases growth hormones that boost muscle recovery and muscle growth. When you deprive yourself of sleep, you slow down your recovery process, leading you to see results more slowly.

Lack of sleep also plays a huge role in altering your hormones levels. It causes a greater release of your hunger hormone, leptin, and less of your fullness hormone, ghrelin. This causes you to experience persistent hunger throughout your entire day and also heightens your food cravings, especially for processed, starchy, fatty foods. People who are sleep-deprived have been shown to eat 300 more calories than those who get enough sleep. Lack of sleep also spikes your insulin levels, your fat-storing hormone, stopping you from burning fat as fuel.

11. Are you retaining water?

Water retention can be caused from a multitude of things and may be the reason you are not seeing results and losing weight. The most well-known cause is consuming too much salt. ou may also be retaining water from not drinking enough water, eating too many carbohydrates, exercising too much, not sleeping enough, high levels of stress or too low of a calorie deficit. Due to water retention, the scale may not be showing you lost weight, but you might still be losing fat. Try staying hydrated, reducing your sodium intake, getting enough sleep and monitoring your carbohydrate intake to help you stop retaining water. Giving your body more electrolytes has also shown to be beneficial.

Chelsea Morrow is a certified personal trainer and yoga instructor. After a six-year career as a professional figure skater, she now works at Burn Boot Camp HQ on the Marketing team and is passionate about educating all of Burn Nation about fitness, nutrition, and a positive mindset. Chelsea is also the author and mastermind behind The Blueprint, Burn Boot Camp’s weekly newsletter. She loves doing yoga, meditating, rock climbing, her dog Yogi, and eating Mexican food.

By Morgan Kline

Hi, it’s Morgan! I’m here to fill up your cup with my weekly recap of Coffee & Kettlebells. I had the amazing opportunity to sit down with Ashley George, the author and founder of the Wonder and Wear blog.

Ashley and I chatted all about the skin issues women often face at different stages in their lives, especially after pregnancy. When Ashley experienced frequent breakouts post-baby, it led her to discover the world of clean beauty, which is now one of her biggest passions!

Before even leaving home in the morning, the average woman is potentially exposed to over 100 (largely unregulated) chemicals found in hair products, soap, cosmetics and other personal care items. “Our skin is our biggest organ,” Ashley says. “There are so many toxins and chemical that we’re putting into our bodies through our skincare and beauty products that we need to become aware of. There are 1,400 ingredients banned in Europe and only 11 in the United States!”

Ashley taught me that the two biggest ingredients to look out for—and stay far away from—are parabens and fragrances. Parabens are a class of widely used preservatives found in shampoos and other hair products, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. They’ve been linked to some scary side effects, including hormone disruption, early puberty in children and potentially even forms of cancer.

Fragrances are another ingredient Ashley warns against. “Under that one word, they can hide over 100 different harmful ingredients!” she says. The lack of a specific description often prevents people from knowing what’s actually in the products they’re using. Fragrances are found in many household cleaners, laundry detergents, shampoos, perfumes, sunscreens and cosmetics, and they’ve been linked to allergies and side effects like hormone disruption.

My biggest takeaway from sitting down with Ashley is how important it is to read the labels on my beauty and skincare products! I’m already an avid reader of nutrition labels, and Ashley reminded me why it’s important to pay attention to product ingredient labels as well. “We care so much about the ingredients that go into our foods but don’t think about the ingredients that are put into our products,” she says. “Either way, they end up in our body!”

Ashley’s top skincare and beauty tips:

1. Avoid hidden toxins in your beauty and skincare products by finding companies you can fully trust. Ashley’s top pick—it’s the only brand she uses—is Beautycounter. “Once I had kids my skin went crazy, experiencing terrible hormonal acne,” she told me.

“I tried everything to calm it down, from testing hundreds of different products to seeing different dermatologists, and nothing worked until I switched to using Beautycounter products exclusively. I couldn’t tell you how passionate I am about this company. Their products are safe, trustworthy and have completely changed my skin for the better.”

2. Use facial oils. Most people think that using oil will worsen a condition like acne. But adding oils to your skincare routine may actually help banish blemishes, prevent wrinkles, calm rashes and redness as well as shrink enlarged pores. What are Ashley’s go-to facial oils? “Beautycounter’s No. 3 Balancing Facial Oil and No. 1 Brightening Facial Oil have dramatically improved the condition of my skin,” she says.

3. Download the EWG Healthy Living app. “When shopping, use the EWG app to easily scan all of your skincare and beauty products and receive a rating,” Ashley says. “It’s the perfect cheat sheet to knowing whether or not a product contains high-quality, clean ingredients.”

4. Incorporate clean skincare products into your life slowly. Dumping all of your products at once is not only wasteful—it will be very expensive to replace them at one time! “Wait until you run out of a product,” Ashley recommends. “Rather than buying it again, simply swap it for a healthy alternative. Continue to do this with every product you use and slowly you will build a healthy skincare collection.”

5. Establish a skincare routine and see a difference in the quality of your skin. Make it a priority to wipe off your makeup and cleanse your face every night before bed. Ashley’s skincare routine includes washing her face with Beautycounter’s Cleansing Balm and Charcoal Cleansing Bar. “I use the Cleansing Balm to remove my makeup or sometimes leave it on overnight to really break down oils, dirt and impurities,” she explains. “The Charcoal Bar is perfect for cleaning my skin without drying it out, giving me a clearer, smoother and brighter-looking complexion.”

6. Allow yourself permission to take 10 minutes of your morning for self-care and feel more confident throughout your entire day. Many of us feel better about ourselves when we feel put together. “If you feel like you are in a slump or don’t feel good about yourself, try putting a little mascara on, put your hair into a cute bun and try to feel like a real human being,” Ashley says. “When you don’t take time for yourself on the outside, sometimes it begins to wear yourself on the inside.” Remember, wear makeup and do your hair to make you feel good about yourself, not because of what others may think of you.

7. Don’t wash your hair every day and do make dry shampoo your best friend. Washing and drying your hair every single day is time- and energy-consuming, and if you are blow-drying afterward, you are creating a lot of heat damage. Ashley suggests washing your hair only once or twice a week. “You have to train your hair,” she says.

“If you wash your hair every day, your hair is then trained to produce natural oils every day. You’ll have to go through a phase where you train your hair to go longer without washing and will be extra oily. After about a month or two, your hair will adjust and not create as much oil. Begin with every other day and work your way toward one or two times a week.” Of course, when you do wash your hair, use a shampoo that’s free of parabens and fragrances.

Last but not least, Ashley says the one product every woman needs is a good eye cream! She suggests buying one that contains caffeine to help reduce puffiness and dark circles.

Hear more from Ashley George by checking out Episode 2 of Coffee & Kettlebells. Find out her favorite ways to incorporate health and fitness into her busy lifestyle, why she thinks inner beauty is most important and how to show yourself more self-love.

If you have any questions about the podcast, health, fitness or life in general, always feel free to email coffeeandkettlebells@burnbootcamp.com for answers!

By Chelsea Morrow

Do you take the time to stretch?

When I ask people this question, the general response I get is that they aren’t flexible enough and it hurts to stretch.

I am not naturally flexible either. I know what it is like not to be able to touch my toes. But when I became a professional figure skater it was required of me to bend myself into crazy positions, from gliding across the ice in the splits to spinning with my leg yanked up over my head. So how did I go from extremely stiff to amazingly limber? I simply stretched!

Everyone is capable of becoming flexible—all it takes is time and practice. Do you avoid the gym because you think you aren’t strong enough? No! You understand that in order to become strong, you must lift weights. And that when you regularly hit the gym for an extended period of time, you notice yourself getting stronger. The same is true with flexibility. You won’t turn into a bendy gymnast overnight, but through developing a regular stretching routine, you will slowly begin to feel yourself become more limber.

Today I cannot imagine living my life without being flexible. It’s no longer a priority for my career, but it will always remain a priority in my life. I experience greater vitality in my day-to-day activities when I have taken the time to loosen up my body. I move more easily, feel stronger in my workouts, feel less sore afterward and reduce my chances of injury.

Give stretching a chance and feel better in your life! Get rid of your aches and pains, treat your body with respect, quiet your mind, and just allow yourself relax. You deserve it!

Try these five simple yoga poses that will give you a full-body stretch in less than ten minutes.

Seated Spinal Twist

Muscles stretched:

Oblique muscles, upper and lower back muscles, neck muscles, piriformis, glutes

How to:

Step 1

Sit on the floor with your left leg extended straight in front of you. Cross your right leg over top and plant your right foot firmly on the ground, as close to your left hip as possible. Make any needed adjustments to ensure both sit bones are equally placed on the floor. Sit up on a pillow or folded blanket to assist.

Step 2

Take a deep breath in as you hug your knee into your chest and extend your spine as long as possible. Ensure your shoulders are stacked directly over your tailbone, creating one straight line.

Step 3

Keep your left arm wrapped around your knee, your back completely straight and both sit bones glued to the floor as you make your way into the twist. On an exhale, twist to your right, gaze over your right shoulder and place your right hand behind your right glute. Avoid twisting from your lower back, as it does not have great range of motion. Ensure you are finding your twist from your navel up.

Step 4

With each inhale, try to make your back stand even taller; on each exhale, try to twist further. Protect your back by using your abdominal muscles to deepen the twist rather than the leverage of your left arm wrapped around your knee.

Step 5

Remain in the stretch for 45 seconds before switching sides.

Benefits:

• Helps alleviate menstrual discomfort, sciatica and backaches
• Promotes proper digestion
• Works to detoxify organs of built-up toxins

Lizard Pose

Muscles stretched:

Hip flexors, quadriceps, abductors, adductors

How to:

Step 1

Set up the pose by bending into your right knee as you take a long step back with your left foot and gently place your left knee on the floor. Avoid causing pain in your knee by taking a longer step backward and placing the top tip of your kneecap on the ground rather than your whole kneecap.

Step 2

Place your hands on either side of your right leg and ensure your shoulders are perfectly square to the front.

Step 3

Look down at your right knee and align it directly over your right ankle.

Step 4

Move your right foot out wide, just outside of your right arm. Roll onto the blade-edge side of your right foot and allow your right knee to drop open to deepen the adductor and abductor stretch.

Step 5

Sink both hips evenly toward the floor. Try to draw your right hip back into its socket as you draw your left hip forward, helping you deepen the hip flexor stretch.

Step 6

Carefully press your right hand against the inside of your right knee as you turn your upper body toward the right to encourage a greater opening in your hip.

Step 7

Hold for 45 seconds before switching sides.

Variations:

• Drop down to your elbows.
• Bend your back knee and draw your heel toward your glute. With your opposite hand, grab the inside of your back foot. Use opposite forces to increase the stretch through your quadricep by pressing your foot firmly away from your body as you use your hand to pull your foot in closer to your glutes. To intensify the stretch, keep your shoulders square to the front.

Thread the Needle

Muscles stretched:

Shoulder muscles, upper back muscles

How to:

Step 1

Begin in tabletop position, kneeling on all fours with your shoulders stacked directly over your wrists and your hips stacked directly over your knees.

Step 2

Reach your left arm up toward the ceiling as you open your upper body toward the left, creating as much length through the spine as possible.

Step 3

Come back through center and twist to the right as you thread your left arm behind the right. Ensure your shoulder, elbow and wrist are in one line, creating a 90-degree angle with your body. Keep your hips stacked directly over your knees and turn your gaze toward the right.

Step 4

Firmly press your fingertips into the ground above your head, using it as leverage to twist your body open further toward the right. Optional: Walk your fingertips further forward to feel a greater stretch through your upper back muscles.

Step 5

With each exhale, allow yourself to release more weight into the the shoulder being stretched. Hold for 45 seconds before switching sides.

Benefits:

• Helps release commonly held stress and tension in the upper back
• Reduces neck discomfort

Lying Chest Opener

Muscles stretched:

Pectorals, shoulder muscles, rhomboids

How to:

Step 1

Begin lying flat on your stomach with your arms extended straight out to the sides, palms face-down and your head turned toward the right. Ensure your shoulders, elbows and wrists are in one straight line.

Step 2

Bend your left knee toward your left glute and slowly roll your body weight onto your right side, dropping your left foot onto the ground next to your right hip.

Step 3

Lift your left arm up off the ground, reaching your left hand toward your right, attempting to make a connection.

Step 4

Hold for 45 seconds before switching sides.

Variations:

• Bend your right elbow at a 90-degree angle to deepen the stretch through the pectoral muscles.
• Plant your right foot on the ground next to your left to deepen the twist.

Wide Legged Forward Fold With Upper Back Extension

Muscles stretched:

Hamstrings, latissimus dorsi

How to:

Step 1

Begin by separating your feet a wide distance from each other, turning your toes slightly inward and keeping a gentle bend in your knees.

Step 2

Reach your arms overhead, creating length through your entire spine. Keep your spine straight and slowly fold forward. Find your forward fold by bending at your hip creases rather than rounding through your spine.

Step 3

Release your hands to the floor with your fingers spread wide. Bend your knees as needed in order to keep your spine perfectly straight. Allow your head and neck to relax and hang heavy.

Step 4

Walk your arms forward, extending your arms completely straight while firmly pressing your body weight back into your heels. Spread your fingers wide and press them deeply into the floor. Feel like you are pulling the floor toward you, with your palms helping to sink your chest closer to the floor, and engage a deep latissimus dorsi stretch.

Step 5

Hold for 1 minute.

Benefits:

• Helps prevent injury
• Alleviates lower back pain
• Improves lower body strength

Chelsea Morrow is a certified personal trainer and yoga instructor. After a six-year career as a professional figure skater, she now works at Burn Boot Camp HQ on the Marketing team and is passionate about educating all of Burn Nation about fitness, nutrition, and a positive mindset. Chelsea is also the author and mastermind behind The Blueprint, Burn Boot Camp’s weekly newsletter. She loves doing yoga, meditating, rock climbing, her dog Yogi, and eating Mexican food.

Haley Twist

At Burn, we know that your days spent balancing a family, work and other responsibilities, healthy eating, and exercise can feel overwhelming, crazy, and downright chaotic! You might even have such busy days that when your head finally hits that pillow at night, you’re out like a light.

However, sometimes all the craze has the opposite effect on your sleep and can lead to restless nights that leave you feeling exhausted before your day even begins. Your sleeping habits can have an enormous effect on your performance at camps, energy levels, and your overall wellness, so we’re bringing you ten tips to ensure that you’re well-rested, energized, and ready to take on every new day!

1. Stick to a sleep schedule. Try your best to go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day, even on the weekends. (And stop pressing snooze!)

2. Avoid caffeine 4-6 hours before bed. Caffeine tends to hide in unexpected places, like teas and chocolate. These can interfere with your sleep cycle if consumed too closely to the time you go to bed!

3. Eat lighter meals in the evening, and similarly to your caffeine intake, avoid food 2-3 hours before you go to sleep.

If you find your mind racing about the day you’ve had, you may not have had enough time to process it.

4. Exercise consistently! Working out helps to promote restful sleep, so experiment with what time of the day works best for your exercise. Whether in the early morning or late evening, determine a time that fits your schedule and stick to it!

5. Unplug at least an hour before bed. Bright lights that illuminate from our laptops, tablets, and phones can have the opposite effect on our brains that we want before sleep.

6. Think about your day (and the day ahead) before getting into bed. If you find your mind racing about the day you’ve had, you may not have had enough time to process it. Take some time before bed to think about your day and make notes about what you need to do tomorrow—but don’t get into bed until you’re done!

7. Take deep breaths. Breathing can be just as important outside of camps as it is inside! Deep breathing mimics how your body feels when it’s truly relaxed, so try inhaling and exhaling deeply for a few rounds once in bed, and see if it helps to calm you.

Ensuring that your body has the proper fuel it needs to feel optimally healthy and energized is key to a healthy sleep cycle.

8. Get the essential vitamins and minerals you need every day. Ensuring that your body has the proper fuel it needs to feel optimally healthy and energized is key to a healthy sleep cycle. Try a supplement like Shaklee’s Vitalizer to make sure that you have the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, omega-3 fatty acids, and probiotics you need to feel your best. Talk to your Head Trainer at your local Burn to learn more about it.

9. Get some sunlight first thing in the morning. Bright lights help trigger your brain to stay alert and wide awake, so exposing yourself to some natural sunlight in the morning can help you to feel significantly more energized.

10. Boost energy in the morning by drinking lemon water upon waking. We swear by this trick Burn Nation, and our Founder, Devan Kline urges absolutely everyone to try it. Adding lemon slices to your water not only gives you a natural energy booster, especially when consumed first thing in the morning, but it also helps you build alkalinity, speed up your metabolism, and combat high body fat.

Running around New York City all day is exhausting, but it sure is rewarding! My few days spent in The Big Apple were a big change from just a few days ago when I found myself sitting in my office for hours trying to get caught up on a few things.

When Ivanka Trump HQ asked myself and Brooke Thomas of 360 Your Life to fly to NYC to speak on Facebook Live, we were thrilled. I couldn’t wait to spread the word about health, wellness and female empowerment even further throughout the nation! Brooke and I decided that everyone probably needs a little “revamp” of their work routine, so we wanted to help. It is easy to get in a rut when you do the same thing day after day! Thankfully a healthy balance of hard work and consistent exercise is all I need to keep myself energized and moving quickly, and that’s where I’m here to help YOU feel the same.

When you spend your day sitting at a desk, your joints can get tight and tired, and your energy levels tend to decrease. The reality is that many people spend their entire workday sitting in a chair, only getting up to use the bathroom or eat lunch. In fact, the average person sits six hours a day! It’s crazy, and unhealthy! By the end of your 8 hours at the grind, you have no motivation to attend a camp and your only desire is to head home and crash on the couch. You need to keep your blood pumping quickly to keep yourself motivated throughout your work day… whether that’s in the office, at a hospital, at a school, or any type of profession!

All of the following exercises can be done anywhere you choose. You don’t need ANY equipment, just your body weight. These simple movements will help you feel awake and ready to attack any task that’s thrown your way. Whether you’re on a conference call, waiting at the copy machine, or just looking for a quick pick me up in the middle of your busy schedule, you can get your energy up and enthusiasm soaring when you work these exercises into your daily routine!

click the Boomerangs to enlarge the videos.

Rapid Fire Punches

Sitting in a squat position, punch right arm across your body feeling your mid-section twisting. Follow immediately with a left arm punch across the opposite side of your body. Continue as fast as you can with good form to fire up the core! This exercise will work transverse abdominals and external obliques. Increased blood flow and lower cortisol, the hormone linked to stress.

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Wall Sit

Making feet slightly wider than hip width apart and toes slightly pointing outward, keep your butt against the wall and squat down slowly, drop down keeping your weight towards the heel of your feet. Once quads are parallel or lower to the ground, stand back up. To intensify, add a jump into your squat. This exercise will work you lower body as well as increase your heart rate.

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Calf Raises

Lift as high as you can onto your toes and lower your heels down as much as your ankle flexibility allows. Push evenly through the entire width of your foot. Don’t push off from your big toe or the outside edge of your feet. Calf raises will increase strength &  flexibility on your lower leg to prevent injury during your exercise.

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I would also recommend keeping a workout bag under your desk so you are ready when you need it! Here are a few of my gym bag essentials.

Hair Tie : A hair tie is so easy to forget, but when you do it’s a nightmare! Keeping extra hair ties in my gym bag is always a necessity or I’ll cancel my plans if I would have to workout with my hair down.

We know that it’s easy to get bogged down with your daily routine at work. Papers, sticky notes and binders pile up on your desk, and so does your stress. While exercise is a key component in your work life routine, Brooke has some amazing advice on adopting healthy habits while you’re spending time in your office space. From desk organization to healthy snakes, my good friend and 360 Your Life founder has you covered! These simple and attainable ‘Healthy Work Life’ tips will provide you with mental clarity, office space organization and the drive you need to conquer any task inside or outside of the office.

Visit Brooke’s blog to read her latest post, ‘Give Your Workspace a Healthy Makeover’ , and add these game-changing suggestions into your daily routine!

Don’t forget to pop over to our ‘Live In New York’ blog post to watch our LIVE segment as seen on Ivanka Trump HQ!

Today I’m going break down a few benefits of removing your makeup before camp, and why it’ll help your skin stay flawless, fresh and youthful.

Working Out With Makeup Induces Acne

Sweat, heat, bacteria, and the chemicals found in your makeup come together to great the ultimate acne generator. Even if you don’t get red bumps on your face, you will most like see a few blackheads and clogged pores from exercising in a full face of makeup. If you want to wear any sort of serum prior to camp, all you need is a breathable, oil-free sunscreen or tinted moisturizer for those outdoor workouts. Other than that, embrace your natural beauty and your skin will thank you later!

Working Out With Makeup Congests Pores

When you workout with makeup on, especially foundation, your pores can’t release sweat or toxins. When we say “sweat it out,” your face is included! We want you to leave camp feeling your best to the nth degree. A full face of makeup will block the pores found in your cheeks, nose and face, restricting your skin from breathing. In turn, this can lead to skin irritation, redness and breakouts. Let you face breath and sweat, just like the rest of your body!

Working Out Without Makeup Fuels Your Skin

Some people think that you need to wash your face more than once a day, and always with soap. Think again! Washing your face too many times a day can cause your skin to dry out, which in turn leads your skin to create excess oil to compensate for the dryness. When you exercise without makeup on, toxins will be able to exit your body through your sweat glands in a matter of minutes. On top of that, the oil produced within your skin will leave your face feeling refreshed and hydrated. It might sound crazy, but after you get home and shower, you’ll be able to feel your skin breathe a sigh of relief!

Make sure to carry around a soft towel in camp to gently pat your face dry throughout your workout! Scrubbing your face with a rough towel can create irritation… all you need is a little cold water!

Interested in learning more beauty, health and nutrition tips and tricks? Sign up below and we’ll send our latest advice straight to your inbox!

Jen Van Cise – Naples, FL

When I walked into Burn Boot Camp 11 months ago, I had finally become fed up with myself.  I was feeling persistently exhausted and embarrassed at the example of poor health I was setting for my young son. I had gained 85 lbs. in two years in yet another cycle of yo-yo dieting and weight gain. My most recent weight gain was driven by a series of convenient excuses to eat poorly and to ignore my health, ranging from constant business trips to all types of career and parenting stresses. A former college athlete and marathon runner, I battled this cycle for 16 years as my career took center stage, and I never allowed myself time to benefit from any form of exercise at all. I worried that I had become too out of shape to work out in a Boot Camp format. Photos and videos of other women who looked like me and participated in the program encouraged me, so I decided I could probably do it too.

I have lost 75 lbs. so far as well as 25 inches on my measurements and 16% body fat. I am stronger and have some muscle tone, and I fit into the same jeans now that I could wear before I started gaining weight, 85 lbs. ago, even though I’ve “only” lost 75 lbs. of the weight I had gained.  Some of that difference is the weight of my increased muscle mass. Within one camp, I became committed to this place. I show up before dawn 6 days a week because I love it.  I’ve gained a new outlook about defining success, which is less about numbers and more about the great sense of accomplishment that I feel when achieving new fitness goals. I have run several 5K’s, improving my one mile run pace by about 3 minutes, and I have made progress towards many other goals that I continue to challenge myself to achieve.  I’ve also worked back up to 250 double-unders in a row and 13 triple-unders in a row with the jump rope, bringing me back in time to my school years when I competed and performed internationally on a jump rope team.  At least in some ways, I feel half my age again! I expected to get more fit when I walked through those doors, and I was prepared to put in the effort both in terms of fitness and nutrition. But there was more to the Burn Boot Camp experience than I had imagined. Over the years, I had barely noticed myself becoming rather private and introverted through eight job relocations and a myopic focus on career and family.

Now, suddenly, I was welcomed by a whole community of like-minded women of all ages, shapes, and sizes, all of whom encouraged me to succeed as they pursued their own fitness goals by my side. I didn’t realize how much I needed the friendship and support of the women I now proudly call my friends. Those relationships are incredibly important to me now, and I feel like I’m where I “belong” for the first time since I was on sports teams as a girl. I’d like to thank Holly Strickland and Ryan and Jen Day for their leadership, support, and talent as the owners and trainers of our Naples Burn Boot Camp. They are truly top quality, and they have now also trained a group of talented support trainers in their image. They are coaches, role models, and now friends as well. I’ve become an advocate for Burn Boot Camp wherever I go, and, as I take on the ownership of two new Burn Boot Camp locations in Florida myself, I’m delighted to be bringing the Burn Boot Camp experience to two more communities of women! 

We know that it’s not an easy decision to transform your life and change your mindset, it takes hard work, but we can guarantee you’ll be glad you did! Sign up below to get started on your own journey!

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