Hello Refinery Family!
Aren’t we lucky that the sun is still shining and the air is still warm most of the time? It’s October and pumpkins are finding their way to the porches, pumpkin spice everything is trying to find its way into your grocery cart, and whether it’s simply your parental duty or you’re feeling nostalgic, you might find your way to a pumpkin patch.
This month, I am going to talk about how we use our TIME. For the last two weeks I had to take a (quick) break from working out and playing tennis. I was reduced to 20 minute walks, with no limit in the number I took in a day. I’m very grateful I could still train and teach!!! That pause is over now, but when I was preparing for this little break from my routine, I wondered about what I was going to do with the 2-3 hours a day I use to workout and playing tennis and the driving time associated with these activities. It is A LOT of time. I did NOT want to spend it scrolling or posting on social media, shopping, drinking alcohol, over eating, or “watching my shows.” (I don’t have shows. I pretty much only watch 15-30 minutes of tennis a couple evenings a week.) Instead I walked my dogs A LOT, walked to do my errands, listened to my podcasts plus some recommended ones, cooked slightly more elaborate dinners, stopped drinking during the week, wasn’t grouchy about housework, and made my bedtime earlier. I almost could feel my cortisol levels decreasing. I learned that I need to slow my a** down, not just at 5:50 am when I’m driving to teach my 6 am classes, but ALL the time.
However, in both my personal and professional life, I hear and feel a substantial amount about the time scarcity many of us experience.
A big part of the work we do at the Refinery is to work with people on improving their healthspan. Our training culture has ALWAYS included more than teaching classes and coaching workouts. We are not focused on winning lifting or physique competitions, we are about the long game that embodies moving well, feeling good, and increasing the length of time we can be adventurers. We are in constant conversation in training sessions, in class conversations, on social media, with the weekly nutrition tips and weekly quotes, about ways the folks in our gym can build a lifestyle rooted in sound daily health habits and routines. The most significant components of a healthy lifestyle for body and brain include:
- Daily exercise – including strength based workouts 3x a week.
- Daily outdoor time
- Daily intake of REAL FOOD and water – prioritize proteins, produce, and whole grains. (Food from sealed bags need not apply.)
- Daily human connection
- Daily positive affirmation
- Nightly sleep of 7-8 hours
- A sense of purpose
The biggest roadblock to building this simple yet powerfully nurturing lifestyle is a sense of TIME SCARCITY.
All of us share some level of commonality in the way we spend our days, and we are each managing our personal, professional and recreational time in the ways that best suit our daily lives. Honestly evaluating how we prioritize our time may inform us about the source of our sense of time scarcity. Common “time stealers” include:
- Scrolling on our phones
- Reading/watching daily news
- Watching shows/movies/sports on a screen
- Frequent alcohol based gatherings
- Work emails outside of designated work time.
Additionally consider these statistics:
- An American adult on average spends 12 hours a week scrolling/shopping/ reading news on their phones.
- 2/3 of American adults are overweight or obese.
- The average American spends 87% of their life inside, 6% of their life inside automobiles, 7% of their life outdoors.
These statistics are based on voluntary actions made by adults. We can put down our phones, we can go outside for walks before/during/after our workdays, we can consume fewer calories, and we can look for ways to decrease our time in our car. We actually are in charge of more aspects of our lives than we want to acknowledge. We begin to feel out of control and make less wise decisions when we feel crunched for time. Our long term health and happiness is affected by how we spend our time on a daily basis.
In summary, I urge you to consider keeping a time log in an effort to learn how you spend your time and what consumes your focus. Consider your habits and routines around driving/commuting/traveling, working/working early or late, eating pre-planned meals/mindlessly eating, purposefully planning purchases/impulse purchasing, scheduling workouts/ hoping to workout/ skipping workouts, social/recreational events, and bedtime/ staying up late. After a week, personally evaluate your time log in relationship to the components of a long healthspan.
After a closer look, we may learn that we have more time than we think we do to slow down, to be deliberate in our actions, to connect, to eat real foods, to get our work done well in less time, and to get our workouts in. Empower yourself to be the owner of your time and health. (And maybe unplug more often.)
Peace and pumpkins,
Ashleigh
10th Anniversary Party!
The Refinery is turning 10 this November! To celebrate, we will be hosting a party. We’ve been waiting for it – now Let’s Go!!!!!!
What: Drinks, Snacks, DJ, Dancing 💃🏻💃🏼💃🏿🕺🏻🕺🏼🕺🏿
When: Saturday, November 19th
Time: 7-11pm
Where: The Big Legrowlski, 812 NW Couch Street
Please RSVP in MINDBODY! so we have an idea on the number of attendees. Our max is 100. Thank you!
Class Changes
To give folks a little bit more time on a workday to get to The Refinery, the Tuesday evening yoga (Flow-Rida) with Ace is now at 5:30 pm.
We haven’t given up on our Cardio Dance class, but we do see that Thursday evening may not be the right time for our crew to boogie. We are going to move the 305 Cardio Dance class to Saturday 10 am starting October 22nd. A Saturday morning sweat session on the dance floor might be better than brunch!
Register in MINDBODY!
Fueling Before and After Workouts
Many of us work out first things in the morning in a fasted state. And have for years. There has been enough research to show that it is not good for our bodies and minds to do intense workouts without ANY nutrition on board.
First and foremost, working out fasted often increases our cortisol levels. Cortisol is a stress hormone. Many of us live lives that already increase our cortisol levels, and we work out for our mental health as much as for our physical health. When we workout on an empty stomach we are nullifying our body’s ability to release the stress we are trying to manage.
Second, working out in a fasted state means that our bodies might begin to burn our muscle instead of body fat when we run out of whatever glycogen (sugar) we have remaining on board from the previous night’s last meal. We need to keep all the muscle we work hard to build. Do NOT give that hard work away when you could add one step in the morning to maintain and build muscle instead.
What steps we take to fuel our bodies pre workout is personal. What works for one person does not work for another. (Example – a banana anytime of day before a workout makes me nauseous and yes, I learned the hard way.) I asked the Refinery trainers what they do to prepare for their workouts and this is what I learned.
Britany’s workout prep includes Throne Creatine, Transparent Labs Whey Isolate protein and bright, colorful veggies.
Frederik takes Kion EAA’s (essential amino acids) and creatine before a workout. If he starts to feel a little drained, he adds a handful of nuts and a banana.
Mitch is a fan of Woke AF PreWorkout and Beyond Raw Chemistry Labs Creatine.
Trevor prepares for his workouts with a scoop of Cellucor C4 Sport, a caffeine pill, and essentials greens and follows up with Optimum Nutrition Whey Protein.
Ashleigh starts the days with Athletic Greens first, followed by coffee with Vital Proteins Collagen Protein, Laird Performance Mushrooms and Turmeric Superfood Creamer. On Wheelhouse days she drinks Thorne Amino Acids and on Reboot days she takes Purium Amino Acid tablets. Thorne Creatine is a go to before heavier lifting and singles tennis matches. Workouts are followed by Trace Minerals post workout or Optimum Nutrition Whey Protein.
Ace starts the day with Sports Research Apple Cider Vinegar Gummies and Optimum Nutrition Opti-Men Multivitamin. He then moves on to coffee with Vital Protein Collagen Protein. He follows up his workouts with Now Sports Whey Protein Isolate. He also includes Vital Proteins Recover during or after workouts.
As you can see, we aren’t talking about flapjacks and sausage at 5 or 6 am. We are mainly centered around protein supplementation in the form of collagen and/or Amino Acids, electrolytes by way of fruit/veggies/B12 and caffeine (not Britany or Frederik – they are our purest ones.) At a minimum, we are taking in about 100-250 calories of focused nutrition before a workout. It goes easy on the stomach but is powerful for muscle production and stamina. Adding a high protein supplement afterward – such as whey protein in some form also continues to support the process of building muscle and maintaining energy levels. Without this small step of preparedness, we might be unknowingly sabotaging our efforts.
Try it for yourself and find out what works. Give it about three weeks to see if you can tell a difference. Ask someone you work out with what they do, as exchanging our experiences helps us each find the best path for ourselves.
Community Corner
If you’ve had a conversation with me or taken a class from me in the last few weeks, you may have heard me talk about a podcast that possibly increased my brain size while also propelling my passion for healthy living into the next level.
Please “Do NOT pass Go or collect $200” (it’s a monopoly reference of urgency!) until you have listened to The Model Show episode #621 on 9/27 with Dr. Daniel Amen.
Spooky/Fun Halloween Read
Our office manager, Sarah, wears a lot of hats. When she isn’t on a run, parenting her son Dario, emailing clients, or helping run the Kayser household, she is writing children’s books. Her latest release Dog Breath Soup is a super natural ghost story – appropriate to the season. If you are looking for a gift for a tween or dog loving young reader in your life, this could be a great option!
This book, along with Sarah’s other stories such as Ernie Martin Moves into a Mansion and My Blankie is Cranky are available on Amazon. Click here to check them out!
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